Razorbills are not commonly seen from the Vineyard, but they are occasionally observed through the winter. Two of the more reliable locations for finding them are the Gay Head Cliffs and Vineyard Sound off West Chop. This species, an alcid, was not reported from land this week. Other pelagic seabirds are even less common near us.
But it is a different story out to sea. Liam Waters was on a federal research cruise 40 to 80 miles south of the Vineyard this week and he submitted five reports of his sightings to ebird for about two hours of observations on Jan. 14 to 15. He saw two razorbills, 74 dovekies, six Atlantic puffins, 10 black-legged kittiwakes, 12 northern gannets and one glaucous gull. There is a reason why these species are called seabirds; I wonder how far offshore we need to go to have similar sightings.
The remainder of this column focuses on fall and winter species that are lingering, with a question of whether they will move further south or stay here.
Our most unexpected winter resident is the rufous hummingbird, which Nancy Nordin observed on Jan. 17, at its usual Chilmark hummingbird feeder along North Road.
The following less common waterfowl may not stay here until spring. Charles Morano spotted one common merganser at the Vineyard Golf Club on Jan. 13, and Lisa Maxfield saw two northern shovelers at Brush Pond also on Jan. 13. Janet Woodcock found the same two birds the next day, and Chris Scott located four gadwall on Norton Point on Jan. 16. Nancy Nordin watched nine ruddy ducks at Squibnocket Beach on Jan. 17.
Is the large flock of 200 ruddies still hanging around the Aquinnah herring run? The following two sightings of large flocks increases their chances of staying through the winter as they have stayed through the deep freezes we have already had this winter. On Jan. 14, Charles Morano counted 93 ring-necked ducks in Crystal Lake; he and Janet Woodcock watched 89 American wigeon in Mud Creek.
Shorebirds are lingering too. John Nelson saw four killdeer in an unusual location, Ocean Park, on Jan. 9. Bob Shriber, Nancy Weaver and David Benvent observed 11 ruddy turnstones on Norton Point on Jan. 9, while Nancy Nordin spotted five of them there on Jan. 12. Janet Woodcock spotted six on Norton Point on Jan. 13.
An American oystercatcher is lingering along Beach Road in Vineyard Haven. Shea Fee found it near the seawall on Jan. 9, Nancy Weaver’s sighting was near the boat ramp on Jan. 10, and Shea Fee and Charles Morano saw it again on Jan. 14.
Nancy Nordin found a greater yellowlegs on Norton Point on Jan. 12, and Charles Morano had two of them at Mud Creek on Jan. 14.
Landbirds will linger too. Charles Morano spotted a golden-crowned kinglet at Cove Meadow Preserve on Jan. 1. Nancy Nordin found one of the less common ruby-crowned kinglets near Squibnocket Beach on Jan. 17, where she also discovered both a winter and a marsh wren.
Red-breasted nuthatches are less common than white-breasted nuthatches, as the latter are common just about everywhere there are trees. On Jan. 1, Angel Morris had two red-breasted nuthatches on Franklin street in Vineyard Haven, and Charles Morano saw three of them at Cove Meadow Preserve. Luanne Johnson spotted one at her West Tisbury home on Jan. 16.
Brown creepers are probably more common, but they are so difficult to find because they blend into tree trunks. Charles Morano observed one at Cove Meadow Preserve on Jan. 1, Stephanie Mashek located one at Martha’s Park Road in Oak Bluffs on Jan. 5, and Charles Morano watched one at Felix Neck on Jan. 9. On Jan. 13, Rich Couse had one at the Hoft Farm, and Cynthia Bloomquist spotted one at her West Tisbury home on Jan. 13.
Birders are always excited to see eastern bluebirds. Nancy Weaver and Janet Woodcock saw five at Tashmoo Springs on Jan. 4. Nancy Nordin had two visit her yard on Jan. 5, and Jennifer Slossberg found six near Middle Line Road on Jan. 7. Connie Alexander watched a flock at her Vineyard Haven home on Jan. 8, Bob Shriber spotted one at Town Cove on Jan. 9, Charles Morano observed four at Sweetened Water Farm on Jan. 13, and Rich Couse located one at the Hoft Farm on Jan. 14.
We wonder whether these finches will stay through the winter. Field sparrows are surprisingly abundant this week. Rich Couse spotted three at the Hoft Farm on Jan. 4. Matt Pelikan found one near Menemsha Harbor on Jan. 5, and Nancy Nordin observed one in her yard on Jan. 5, when she also had an American tree sparrow. Charles Morano saw four field sparrows at Sweetened Water Farm on Jan. 13. Nancy Weaver located one fox sparrow at Short Cove Preserve on Jan. 17, the same day that Nancy Nordin watched a fox sparrow and two purple finches at Squibnocket Beach.
More certain to stay through the winter is the Ipswich sparrow — a variant of the Savannah sparrow — that Allan Keith found on Norton Point on Jan 11, and single Savannah sparrows spotted by Charles Morano at Little Beach on Jan. 13 and Jim Suozzo near Squibnocket Pond North on Jan. 14.
The most interesting lingering warbler is the orange-crowned warbler that is still hanging around Brush Pond, spotted by Lisa Maxfield on Jan. 16.
Finally, five-year-old Addie Ives was excited to see her first adult bald eagle as it sat on the osprey nest at the Aquinnah herring run on Jan. 18. She was with Bob Shriber. That day they also found a flock of 50 bluebirds at Wasque Point.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com.
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.
This article appears in January 23, 2026.
Robert, I’m an avid birder from western Mass… having spent quite a bit of time on MV over the years, I tune in
eagerly each week to your bird column to learn what’s been seen on the island. Thanks for all of your
excellent reports.