1 Bay Trip: Exploration of Shinnecock Bay and the Canal

Inlets and LI Express Hurricane
by Riley Smith

During our first trip of the semester, we were able to sail through the Shinnecock Canal and to the Shinnecock Inlet. I had never been on a boat like this before. Being able to physically experience this through a class while learning about Long Island’s history and the different waterways was interesting.

While we were docked by the Shinnecock Inlet, we got to learn a little history about how it was formed. In 1938, there was a major hurricane called the Long Island Express. This hurricane had no warning as it landed on the island and, due to the lack of technology, no one was prepared for the approaching weather. It caused major damage, and a large number of lives were lost. Comparable to Hurricane Sandy, which many of us lived through, the LI Express was much, much worse. Not only the damage to infrastructure and lives, but it also opened eleven inlets along the South Shore. This did raise some questions as to how we should deal with them, like should we close them, or will they close naturally? What are the benefits to having inlets now?

Here is an image of the boat leaving the inlet. You can see along the horizon where there is an opening in the land. That is the Shinnecock Inlet. An inlet is a small opening where a water passage is, often where land once was and has now opened, like from a hurricane. Since inlets allow for the cycling and flow of water between the Shinnecock Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, we decided to keep two areas open after the hurricane. Not only that, but it also opened more space and opportunities for fishing, which is a major factor that benefited the south coast of Long Island.

Having lived through Hurricane Sandy, I can only imagine what a hurricane much worse than that could have been like. Although there were extreme repercussions that hurt the welfare of Long Island, we were able to find some good from it. Now, Shinnecock Bay is cleaner from the harmful algal blooms and other pollutants in the stagnant water before the hurricane. That was not previously possible when there was no inlet in the area. The fishing industry also continued to flourish and rise after the LI Express hurricane and allowed people to continue their livelihood from a new perspective.

I feel like it is so important to learn the history of the area you are in, even if it is not where you are from. Coming out to the Southampton and Shinnecock area allowed me to learn more about Long Island and its rich history and I am looking forward to the next class.


Cormorants of Shinnecock Bay

by Arielle Mule

Shinnecock bay contains a thriving ecosystem of fish and birds. On the boat ride there, wherever there was a dock piling, there was a seabird. Perhaps a cormorant on one, a great egret on another, and a night heron on the next.

 
Cormorants, unlike the latter two and most other seabirds, can often be seen perching with their wings stretched out. This is to allow their wings to dry, as flying with wet wings is much more difficult and impractical (Moskeland, 2022). The next logical thing to wonder is why most birds (including the egrets and the herons) don’t need to do this. Most seabirds benefit from a coating of oil on their feathers which keeps water from saturating them, allowing these birds to fly without worrying about drying off first. This oil is secreted by an epidermal gland called the Uropygial (“europe-eye-gee-ul”) gland, and it is distributed through the feathers manually via preening (Mayer et al., 2013). Cormorants have this gland, but it is a less developed version (Ellis, 2011).

(Moore, 2019), not taken on this trip. | Double crested cormorant drying off its wings

The waterproof trait is beneficial in a time-sensitive environment, when generally vulnerable to predators, weather conditions, etc. It makes sense that waiting around for your feathers to dry would put you at an evolutionary disadvantage, so why is it that cormorants thrive, even with a defective version of this gland? The answer is that their defectiveness is precisely their advantage, and their niche. Cormorants are diving birds. The low density of secreted oil decreases the effective/average density of a bird, which increases the buoyant force to weight ratio, impeding its ability to dive. Having less or no gland oil allows the cormorant to swim both faster and deeper downward, giving it access to food which other seabirds don’t have (Ellis, 2011). This is its competitive advantage.

Though it somewhat makes sense that cormorants thrive due to their creative sourcing of food, it is still remarkable that they can survive without the waterproof adaptation. The fact that they can dry off fast enough to not get hypothermia alone is perplexing. Sure, their feathers may have evolved to dry quickly in the hot sun, but the birds are so small, and have so much surface area to soak with cold water, that they could conceivably get hypothermia faster. But somehow the system works, and they dry off fast enough. Nature seems to have decided that diving provides the same advantage as waterproofing, and that may be the most intuitive explanation we have on the matter.

Sources

Ellis, M. (2011, March 25). Cormorants. KQED. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.kqed.org/perspectives

Mayer Jörg, & Donnelly, T. M. (2013). In Clinical veterinary advisor: Birds and exotic pets (pp. 237–239). essay, Elsevier Health Sciences.

Moore, D. (2019, January 26). Grays Harbor Birds: Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). The Daily World. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.thedailyworld.com/sports/grays-harbor-birds-double-crested-cormorant-phalacrocorax-auritus/

Moskeland, A. (2022, April 27). Bird Academy: The cornell lab: Courses tutorials videos. Bird Academy | The Cornell Lab | Courses Tutorials Videos. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/

The Prohibition Era on Long Island
by An Kreidler-Siwinski

It is a warm summer day on Long Island, my peers and I are relaxing on rocks by Canoe Place. Today the Coastal Cultural class is traveling on the research vessel the Peconic and learning about the history of the Shinnecock and Great Peconic Bays. Among many other topics, students are being taught about how the prohibition era has had an impact on the local area.

Prohibition in the states lasted a relatively short time starting in the 1920s and ending in 1933. It was introduced with the 18th amendment and stopped with the 21st. During this time Long Island was known as “rum row”. While many people agreed with the prohibition law, it was not favored by all. Alcohol was often brought in on ships from international waters. Then people called “rum runners” would evade the authorities and transport alcohol to people in need. Some people had secret shelves or cellars where they could store the good stuff and keep it hidden from law enforcement.

Rum runners would also carry rum to various taverns and inns. A tunnel was built from a canal to a Canoe Place Inn (CPI) to do just that. CPIs were buildings made for travelers to stay the night when heading east or west on the island. Before modern cars, it took quite a long time to travel from one end of Long Island to another, so CPIs had frequent use.

The image in this blog post is of the Shinnecock Bay inlet. Outside this very inlet, ships used to carry illegal alcohol from the open ocean to deliver to island residents.

The Dongan Patent

by Mary Lares

When out on a field trip with the class of Coastal Cultural Experience, we stopped off at two different locations. We stopped at the Peconic Canal that was formerly known as “Canoe Place” and we stopped at the Shinnecock Inlet. While stopped at Peconic Canal, Professor Rider lectured about the history of the canal. One thing in particular that stood out to me was the mention of the Dongan Patent of 1686. This patent dictates that the shorelines that completely surround Long Island are, and always will be, public property. That is not to say that individuals cannot purchase beachfront property or the beach itself. The document dictates that an individual is only able to purchase land up to the highest tide mark of the area.

The reason that this Patent was created was to allow those on the island to provide for themselves. Though the resources that the Island provided may not have always been sufficient in providing for and feeding an entire population, the allowance of the free beaches meant that an individual or community could always turn to the water for sustenance. However, there is still the need for licenses for both fishing and shellfishing. This necessity is more to ensure that there is less likelihood for the monopolization of the ‘fishing industry’ as Professor Rider mentioned while lecturing.

Though this document is almost 336 years old, it has definitely withstood the test of time. Dr. Rider made the point that this Patent is still holding up in the eyes of the nation. As recently as 2015, this document has upheld its position in a court of law. It is still being used today and, actually, it can be viewed in the town hall of Brookhaven, Long Island.

The image included shows a strip of beach from nearby the Shinnecock Inlet.