Letters

Last summer, there were no red-winged blackbirds living in the vicinity of Areskonk Creek in Center Moriches. Normally, their numbers are robust, as they enjoy the marsh’s bounty of flies and mosquitoes. Because of their absence, I was forced to heavily invest in mosquito repellent. And the incidents of blackbirds dive-bombing my skull while protecting their active nests were just memories.

Could the bird flu have something to do with the demise of my local red-winged blackbirds [“Bird Flu Found on the East End,” “27 Speaks” podcast, February 7]? Or could it be hungry hawks with a craving for only the blackbird species?

None of my other feathered friends was missing. Areskonk Creek’s pair of swans successfully raised seven baby swans. The wild ducks doubled in number, as did as the mockingbirds, rock doves, cardinals, wrens, robins, blue jays, herons and cormorants. There were fewer bank swallows, but their long migration from South America might have taken a few of their flock.

Even my resident seagull, “Old Grey,” has rarely left his post atop the dock’s pile, waiting for his lunch of leftovers.

Donathan Salkaln

Center Moriches