Sea Birds - Stragglers

Sparrow
Red-Eyed Vireo

It is not at all uncommon for small songbirds to be blown out to sea in a strong west wind ( or a north wind, for Long Island. ) Unable to make their way back to land, these tiny fliers eventually tire and drop into the water, or get picked off by seagulls. In desperation, they will alight on anything solid to rest. An anchored dive boat makes an easy target and may collect several hitchhikers over the course of a day. This little guy was so exhausted that he even perched on a finger for photographs. Generally, though, you should just leave them alone and not frighten them further, and they will fly away on their own once the boat gets back to land.

bat

Now this is uncommon. This little bat hitched a ride with us out to sea. When it woke up, it flew around the boat in a panic, and almost bashed its brains out trying to find a perch in the rafters. Except for a few pictures, we left it alone.

dragonfly
Even bugs get blown out to sea - where do you think all those black flies come from? Butterflies are more common than dragonflies.

The "Sachem" wreck is typical of the remains of many unknown wooden sailing ships that are found off the coast. Three parallel sets of ribs and scattered decking between provide good habitat for lobster. The wreck sits in 60' of water on a clean sandy bottom and visibility is usually good on this site. Fairly large and scattered, it also provides a good opportunity for the spearfisherman.

Printed from njscuba.net