The southward migration of songbirds has started. They may be wherever you are, in the woods, fields or even along the shore. Listen for their high-pitched call notes, and if there are chickadees nearby, stop to look and see whether any warblers are flocked with them.

Laurie Reese observed some pine warblers in her yard on August 11 and again on August 24. They are likely early migrants as they are not in her yard during the breeding season.

Steve Allen reports that Felix Neck’s August 27 early birders walk found a black-and-white warbler, a red-eyed vireo and many great crested flycatchers. The group also observed a flock of sanderlings and semipalmated plovers, a spotted sandpiper, and both a lesser and greater yellowlegs foraging in the small pond that you drive past to get to the parking lot.

A male American redstart. — Lanny McDowell

Warren Woessner and Pete Gilmore birded Fulling Mill Brook on August 27 and found common yellowthroat, northern parula, American redstart, blue-winged warbler and one chestnut-sided warbler. They also report that the red-eyed vireos are still there.

Robin Bray observed a hermit thrush on August 27, a first for her yard.

Ken Magnuson observed two warbling vireos at the Edgartown Golf Club on August 29.

And the tree swallow show is underway. On August 29, my Saturday morning guided birding tour found more than 1,000 tree swallows at the Farm Institute and the Katama Airpark, perching on fences and flying overhead hawking insects. It is amazing to be in the midst of these swarming swallows, what with their rustling wings and audible twittering. Most of the birds we saw were juveniles with their brown backs and pure white undersides. When we got to Crackatuxet Cove, there was a small but steady stream of them flying westward. Nancy McLain Valentino observed a large flock of the swallows at Long Point. While they are most prevalent along the south shore, they can be just about anywhere.

This is just the beginning. There are a lot more migrants yet to come. September and October are great months when the weather is not so hot and there are lots of migrants around. And the southward migration continues into December and even January, although at a much slower pace.

Bird Sightings

Ken Magnuson reports a lesser yellowlegs and about 25 greater yellowlegs at Little Beach on August 25. There was also one black tern and a few juvenile piping plovers.

The tree swallow show is underway. — Lanny McDowell

William Waterway has spent a lot of time watching a juvenile common loon while it was loafing on Lobsterville Beach on August 29.

Lots of people have been watching the black skimmers, which are now nesting on Norton Point Beach. Yes, nesting! Winnie and Fred Spar found two recently hatched chicks on August 27, along with 11 adults, 16 American oystercatchers and a fledgling piping plover. On August 29, Lanny McDowell, Ken Magnuson, Pete Gilmore and Cris Mayhew saw the recently-hatched chicks. Caitlin Borck reports that there are three more nests ready to hatch.

Lanny also observed hundreds of loafing terns on Norton Point — this spectacle can be on either the bay-side or the ocean-side of the beach. They can pack together quite closely or the flock can cover large stretches of shoreline. Terns are often arriving and departing from the roost. Occasionally something will make all the loafing birds fly, producing a lively scene as the birds circle around and fly back and forth until they settle back onto the beach. The terns are mostly commons and roseates, but there were black terns and Forster’s terns mixed in.

Susan Whiting and Flip Harrington watched a peregrine falcon on August 30 at Quansoo Beach, as it was consuming an unlucky sanderling that had recently been feeding on the tidal flats. While it seems early for peregrines, there are lots of birds all over the place for a falcon to catch and eat.

Several people have contacted me recently about noisy squealing juvenile red-tailed hawks. The problem, as the juvies see it, is that their parents have either reduced or stopped feeding them! As their parents see it, it is time for them to hunt and catch their own food. This squealing is how they beg their parents for food.

And speaking of hawks, Sarah Mayhew observed a female northern harrier flying over Lagoon Pond near Tisbury Marketplace.

MassAudubon’s The Voice of Audubon reported on a trip south of the Vineyard and Nantucket, presumably to the Gulf Stream although that is not stated, where a lot of seabirds were spotted. These include: two black-capped petrels, three species of storm petrels (28 white-faced, 161 Leach’s and 23 band-rumped), 202 Audubon’s shearwaters, four white-tailed tropicbirds, one red-billed tropicbird, 17 pomarine jaegers, one long-tailed jaeger, one south polar skua and one bridled tern.

MassAudubon also reports an immature brown booby in Nantucket Sound and a periodic sighting of a bridled tern on Nantucket. These species live out at sea and only come to land to breed. Since the breeding season is over they rarely get to the Vineyard or any other land. So here is some advice: a photograph will be required if you see any of these species!

There are lots of birds around, so please get out looking for them, and be sure to report your bird sightings to birds@mvgazette.com.

Robert Culbert leads Saturday morning guided birding tours and is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.