Log update  Oct 23

Today John Kourtoff of Trillium Power called the log on line with an update about the Main Duck wind farm. Kourtoff told me that at this time the company has no plans to use the island itself for construction activities.  Most of the work will be off barges or other work platforms  moored offshore. It’s even possible that the towers would be shipped in and off loaded directly from the freighters on site. This should mean little or no impact on the island and its resident reptiles and other critters.

 

Kourtoff also clarified the location of the wind farm saying that it would be  on the shoal southwest of the island. He told the Log that (quite correctly I suspect) that the tower foundations and associated structure were expected to actually enhance fishing by providing “cover” for fish and substrate for smaller organisms much as artificial reefs in other Great Lakes areas have been shown to do. Given the gradual sloping relatively barren ledges observed inshore, I see no reason to doubt that assumption.

 

One other possible impact on the boating community associated with the wind farm is the potential for enhanced communication ( and monitoring) associated with the towers. Cell phone coverage could possibly be improved so that someone in the Main Duck area could more easily call for assistance should they get in trouble. As for monitoring-well, if there are any cruisers out there who have ever been tempted to go for a skinny dip off the deserted ledges be aware. Big brother is probably going to be watching you more closely than ever before out there-maybe you better keep your clothes on next year!

 

Kourtoff and your editor yacked for quite awhile and at one point the thought of a manned interpretive center was kicked around.  After seeing the burned up cottage last summer and worrying for sometime about the ever increasing vandalism,  deterioration of the keeper’s cottages, and other signs of mis-use that have occurred since 1984 when the light house keepers left,  I and some other cruisers I’ve talked to think having an “island keeper” or some other manned outpost out there would be a great idea. The fact is there are stupid destructive people everywhere. And it’s pretty easy for them to take their fast power craft out to Main Duck

 

 

On an unrelated topic ( or is it?) I and spouse were talking to a  Buddhist lama Sunday who noticed during his stroll along the West Barrier Bar in Fair Haven a number of dead birds. We checked it out and found 8 dead loons and one dead duck partially eaten species uncertain (possibly a scoter?). All appeared to have washed up within a few days with still fresh bright feathers and intact eyes. A Syracuse TV story dated Oct 23 says there have been reports of dead loons from Pulaski west to Sodus Bay. We subsequently also found a dead loon at the end of Brown Road a mile east of Port Bay this morning. So something is going on. If anyone hears of more birds on the beach, send along the species and location. Is it botulism? Or something else?

 

One more update- below is a odd little dead fish picked up off the beach a couple weeks ago. I’m guessing round goby. It had the sort of froggy eyes and what was left of the caudal fin looked sort of right. If it is, it’s the first one I’ve seen on this beach. I talked to a property owner on Fair Haven Bay who had seen them there a number of times though. Things keep changing…