EPCAL - A letter to the Riverhead Town Board

For those of you who subscribe to the NY Bird Listserv - you will have seen a disturbing post by a well respected member of the community.  The past president of ELIAS (and a few others) were harassed by Town Police and given a warning for "trespassing" on the western runway - a vacant runway that has been used by the general public for at least a decade and is the gateway to some of the best wildlife viewing on the island.  After hearing of this absurd response by the Town, I drafted and sent the following letter to members of the Town Board and the Supervisor of the Town of Riverhead.  I urge all of you do draft your own letters and do the same - please contact me or leave a comment if you have any questions or want to know how to contact these elected officials who have decided that PUBLIC LAND is no longer accessible to members of the public.

April 16, 2015

Dear Supervisor Walter and Honorable Council People,

A distinguished member of the birding community and past president of the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS) posted a message about her experience at EPCAL on the New York Birding listserv today.  The message stated that while she and two others were birding the western runway at EPCAL, four (4) police vehicles with a total of five (5) officers showed up and informed the birders that they were trespassing and that the runway was under constant surveillance.  After the officers took everyone’s personal information and issued them a warning, they were told if they were caught offending again that they would be jailed.  While walking is permitted in the adjacent grassland areas, the birders were told they cannot drive or walk on the concrete runway.

This response by the police department is unconscionable.  To threaten members of the community with the prospect of jail for driving their vehicles at a safe and responsible speed on an abandoned runway as they enjoy the sights and sounds of nature runs counter to everything local government should stand for.  As an environmental analyst for the Town of Brookhaven (and avid wildlife photographer), I understand the importance of nature, open spaces and encouraging the public to interact with our natural resources.  

I personally have visited EPCAL countless times over the past six (6) years and have cherished every moment of it, knowing one day it will be altered by development.  I have witnessed short-eared owls hunting at dusk, seen red-tailed hawks soar high above, watched as American Kestrels descend on the property during spring and fall migrations resulting in concentrations of this grassland dependent bird that cannot be found anywhere else on the island.  Discovering a family of fox and their adorable kits was one of my greatest joys I’ve ever had as a nature photographer and listening to the call of the Eastern Meadowlark is one of the truest signs of spring.  These experiences have all been made possible by my ability to traverse the runways in my vehicle in a safe and responsible manner.  In all of my trips to EPCAL I have only once witnessed a vehicle driving at excessive speeds, but on nearly every trip I have enjoyed the beauty that these grasslands offer.

Instead of driving members of the public away (many of them Riverhead Town taxpayers) with big concrete barriers and threats of jail time (for birding!), the Town of Riverhead should be encouraging people to come to EPCAL and enjoy all that it has to offer.  The Town is proud of their efforts to construct a pathway around the border of the property to be used by bikers and joggers alike, but wishes to punish those who want to drive the runways in search of birds, fox, groundhogs and deer.  While it may be easy for some like myself to walk long distances with heavy equipment, there are many others in our community who are not as mobile - nevermind the very real threat that ticks pose to anyone walking in the grasslands.  Driving is easier, safer and allows visitors to see significantly more wildlife.  

It is my hope that the Town of Riverhead can find a happy balance.  Permit vehicles on the western runway from dawn to dusk.  The Town can post speed limit signs and Town police can routinely patrol the area and go after people who are acting in an unsafe manner.  I can assure you that everyone who visits the area would be happy to pay a nominal fee for a runway access permit (with strict guidelines regarding hours, speed, etc.).  If anything, whatever “policy” the Town has chosen for access to the runways should be clarified to the general public.  It is clear that the barriers as installed have not been effective and I can attest that the policies for access have changed many times over the past half decade with no rhyme or reason.  

I ask you, the stewards of Riverhead Town, to please reconsider the policies regarding access to the Western Runway.  Myself and others (particularly members of ELIAS) would be happy to work with you to craft a policy that meets everyone’s interests.  I have attached some of my favorite images from EPCAL taken over the years for you to all enjoy and I ask that you reconsider.  These grasslands are a special resource in your Town and we all know that the land will one day likely be developed - please let myself and others enjoy all it has to offer while it lasts.  Thank you for your time and consideration and I look forward to your responses.  

Sincerely,

Luke Ormand

Calverton and North Fork Preserve

Over the weekend I visited a site I'd never been to before in Calverton. Despite it's close proximity to EPCAL which I have gone to regularly for years, I'd never noticed it before. It's just off the road and contains several small, shallow wetlands. My guess is that in the late spring and early summer it will be teeming with interesting wetland plants, frogs, tadpoles and dragonflies. On Friday morning during my brief visit, there was a good flock of Ruby Crowned Kinglets, plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds (who certainly will be nesting there) and a handful of colorful Pine Warblers as seen below.

EPCAL featured lots of the good stuff - Northern Harriers, a couple dozen American Kestrels, Wild Turkeys, herds of White-tailed Deer and plenty of Eastern Meadowlarks who were actively calling. A lone groundhog was seen looking around on the North side of the property (across Route 25).

A trip to North Fork Preserve didn't yield many photos but showed how much potential the site has. I saw Green-winged Teal, 7 Snipe, a Great Blue Heron, 2 red fox, lots of Wild Turkey, several hawk species and heard some warblers and kinglets. I'm really looking forward to the full migration push when Warblers will be coming through as the small pockets of wetlands at the North Fork Preserve are prime habitat for many of these species.

Tree Swallows taking up residence in a Wood Duck box

Nice lighting on "home pond"

I visited another East End location where I'd heard about an Owl nest and sure enough there it was... I stayed for a couple of minutes and then was on my way. I'd like to get back in the early morning for better lighting - but I'm headed on vacation later this week to Florida so not sure when I'll have the opportunity.

This nest has produced at least 1 Owlet

For more on birds that can be found around Long Island - check out this book by John Turner: Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island

Grasshopper Sparrows

While EPCAL was pretty quiet this afternoon (with only a few American Kestrels making their presence known) as I was leaving I spotted a Grasshopper Sparrow near the Rt. 25 entrance.  I was able to make a somewhat close approach on foot and I believe (based on plumage) that this is a juvenile.  Always a treat to find these birds!

New birds for me @ EPCAL

Had a wonderful vacation down in Florida - not too much on the bird photography front though I did find some Mottled Ducks (which happened to be waiting) so it was a new species for me.  Also had a wonderful experience with a family of Barred Owls and Limpkins - but only had the iPhone camera handy for those!  Photos to come.  In the meantime - enjoy these shots from EPCAL today.

When I first got to the site I was looking down while driving the runway (at a slow - safe speed) adjusting my camera settings and when I looked up this Red-tailed Hawk had exploded out of the grasses (I think it had been eating when I inadvertently disturbed it) with a snake in it's talons.  I've never noticed a snake @ EPCAL and never seen a RTH with one so that was pretty cool.  As it approached the treeline a Kestrel came to harass it for a bit and the hawk then disappeared behind the tall pines.

Shortly after that I came across this Eastern Kingbird - the first time I've seen this grasslands species at this site.  It was having a grand time hawking dragonflies and other insects (see the top of this post).

While leaving the site through the maine south entrance, two grackles flushed this Baltimore Oriole out of the trees adjacent to the pond and I was able to snap off a quick photo which appears to show some bit of food in the Orioles beak (a caterpillar perhaps?).

Other birds seen at the site were tons of Barn Swallows, a murder of Crows, about 12 American Kestrels (way down in number from right before easter when I had at least 30 on just the Western runway), plenty of deer, some Eastern Bluebirds and a few marmots (groundhogs) on the northern radar parcel.

Also, as I was leaving the runway a Riverhead police officer pulled up to me (I guess he had seen me while he was driving through) and asked me if I had a reason to be on the runway.  I told him that I was doing photography of wildlife (and had my camera on the seat next to me).  He said that "they dont' really want people on the runway - I guess because it's an emergency landing strip - so just keep that in mind, ok?"  The officer was very nice and it was clear he didn't have a problem with me there, but that it's not the most favorable use of the site. So just keep that in mind!

If you are interested in learning more about hawks, I recommend picking up this book - Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors - which has everything you need to know about ID'ing these birds when they are far off - like the Red-tailed hawk was when I spotted it today.

Flying Eastern Meadowlark

NIkon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/9, 1/2000s, ISO 500, -.33 EC, cropped to 37%

I told myself I wasn't going to go to EPCAL today after work - but the clear blue skies and sunshine were calling and I couldn't resist. . . It was the same as it's been the past couple weeks - tons of Kestrels and a few other birds that are all annoyingly skittish but I had some success today including the Eastern Meadowlark seen in flight above.

In related news, The Town of Riverhead (owners of EPCAL) are suing the NYS DEC over new legislation regarding the Endangered Species Act.  Riverhead fears that the new regulations are too stiff and will make it impossible for them to sell the acreage available at EPCAL (and that's a bad thing...?).  For more information please see the story at News12 (sorry for those non-Cablevision subscribers who certainly will be blocked from accessing this).  An abridged version of the story reads below:

Riverhead sues DEC over endangered species regulations

(03/29/11) RIVERHEAD - The Town of Riverhead has filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Conservation over new regulations aimed at protecting endangered species, claiming they could place a financial burden on property owners.

Farmer Lyle Wells says before the new regulations, property owners would only have to buffer an area around endangered species, but now owners must hire a consultant to identify endangered species and monitor their growth forever. That could cost thousands of dollars a year.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter says the new regulations will kill jobs and complicate the town's efforts to sell 1,400 acres of property in Calverton. Walters also complains the rules were enacted without any public input.

Dick Amper, of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, says if Riverhead can't sell its land, it has only itself to blame.

"We've been protecting endangered species for 100 years, and no one has gone out of business as a result," he says.

To learn more about endangered species on Long Island and across the globe, pick up a copy of Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World

Juvenile Bald Eagle

A Bald Eagle shows off it's massive wings in flight

This morning as I turned onto Rt. 104 at the intersection of Pleasure Drive (just North of Sunrise Highway) in Flanders I saw a large raptor perched upon a telephone pole.  I turned north onto Rt. 104 and pulled over to get a better look and take my camera out - unfortunately the bird flushed after I had sat there for a minute or so but was rather lazily flying and I was able to photograph it.  In the image directly below you can see a fish in its talons that it had been eating.  This is only the second Bald Eagle I've seen on Long Island in the past 3 years (both juveniles) so it was a nice start to my morning.  While I was almost positive it was  Bald Eagle - I never see them and wanted to be sure I wasn't mistaking it for something else.  Fortunately I just received my copy of Jerry Liguori's Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors which provided me visual evidence I needed to be positive that's what I had seen and photographed.  This book is a great resource and different than any other raptor ID book - plus it's a ridiculous value.

If you look close you can see the fish in the talons

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Wood Duck pair on a small pond in East Quogue on the North side of Montauk Hwy.  But, wood ducks being wood ducks, they didn't want to get too close even though I remained in my car.

Always a nice sight to see

Dune Rd. was very slow despite having a low tide.  Two Killdeer were seen feeding and on my return trip West I also found 2 Great Egrets.

I usually find these birds in fields - not along the water

This bird is ready to breed with those long plumes and green facial patch

EPCAL was full of Kestrels but not much else - I'm looking forward to when the Bluebirds and Swallows are breeding so there is a little more activity up there since you can't get anywhere near Kestrels most of the time.

One of a dozen Kestrels at EPCAL

American Kestrel @ EPCAL

This bird eventually got tired of my vehicles presence

American Kestrels are notoriously skittish (and it doesn't help that they are so small).  They regularly line the runways of EPCAL and thus present a fun challenge for the photographer.  Every now and then I get a bird that's a little more cooperative than the rest and today was such a day.

Politely Posing

In addition to the above Kestrel above, there were 4 Turkey Vultures riding the thermals searching for carrion and an active Eastern Bluebird singing his heart out.  As expected, Eastern Meadowlarks and Northern Harriers were also present.

1 of 4 Turkey Vultures at EPCAL

And while Herring Gulls are not the most interesting bird, I thought some of you would be interested in seeing this portrait taken the other day at the Shinnecock Inlet along the jetty.  This was at just about the limit of my lenses focusing abilities and is full frame.

Full Frame - as close as you can get!

Be sure to view the post below featuring an image of the 'Supermoon' and also be sure to check out Theodore Cross's life's work in his book entitled Waterbirds

Morning Migrants

An American Kestrel waits for the sun to peak back out

This morning I set out at sunrise to see what was around on the day before Spring.  I started at EPCAL since Low Tide wasn't due at Dune Rd. until the afternoon.  When I got on the runways a little after 7 I saw two bright white birds flying overhead and the photo below confirmed my suspicions that they were Great Egrets (moving northwest) which are the first of the season that I've seen.  I was hoping to spot some Eastern Bluebirds but was shut out - the same can't be said for Eastern Meadowlarks which were busy calling for mates and a couple of Horned Larks that are still hanging around.  On the Eastern runway a Savannah Sparrow was signing atop a small shrub.

A welcome sight to see the day before Spring

Turkeys are always a nice species to note at EPCAL:

It's amazing how skittish this species remains

This is easily the closest I've been to a Horned Lark and it gave me a pretty clear shot:

Horned Lark scavenging for food

A Savannah Sparrow was seen singing

On the raptor front were at least 7 American Kestrels busy hunting and hanging out.  I did not see a "pair" like I did in my previous post, but females and males were both present.  A few Northern harriers were lazily hunting over the grasses and a Red-tailed Hawk was also spotted - but Rough-legged hawks were unfortunately absent.

Just hanging out on a Rose bush along the Eastern runway

When I got to Dune Rd. I was disappointed to not spot any wading birds but after waiting around for a bit these American Oystercatchers showed up just east of the Ponquogue Bridge.  Aside from that things were very slow.  My backyard, however, has played host to American Goldfinches all morning which is always a nice treat - too bad they are so camera shy.

A pair of Oystercatchers hunting along their new territory

If you're like me and have a real love of raptors big and small - then you'll want to pick up a copy of Jerry Liguori's latest title Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors which features one of my Gyrfalcon photos.

Lots of Raptors @ EPCAL

Cropped to about 50% off the original - this Roughie is soaring high

On Wednesday the sun was shining and it was the start of a few warm and blue-sky days.  On my way home from work I visited EPCAL and was happy to see so many Kestrels.  In just 20 minutes I observed 7 including what appears to be a pair (see below).  Additionally, 2 light-morph Rough-Legged Hawks, several Northern Harriers and a Red-tailed Hawk were present.

American Kestrel "hovering".  Cropped to just 20% of the original

Perching on the ugly but useful Common Mullein:

I'm including this shot even though the quality isn't great because it was just about full frame:

For more about birds and wildlife on Long Island I highly recommend John Turner's Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island which features a dozen of my photos including a photo of a Snowy Owl found last year on the beach in Hampton Bays.  This is a must read for bird lovers on Long Island