The breeding season makes birds do things they wouldn’t normally do. I have had a zillion people ask me why birds keep striking their windows or rearview mirrors over and over. Birds are very territorial and if they see their reflection in the window or mirror it is, in their eyes, a rival. The interloper must be chased away! Thus the striking of reflections until either the car is moved or streamers or the like are put in windows to break up the reflection.

A baby bird has fallen out of its nest. What should I do? Contrary to old tales that if you touch a young bird the parents will not return, you can return the bird to the nest. The youngster has a better chance of surviving if it is in the nest than on the ground where cats and other predators can reach it.

If I quit feeding birds now will the parents have enough food to feed their young? Yes of course. Birds can feed themselves, readily in the wild particularly in the spring when insects abound. Most bird species switch from seed to insects in the spring to provide their offspring additional protein. Providing water year round is important.

Why are my cardinals and blue jays bald? Are they sick? No, they are not sick, they are molting. Twice a year birds molt their feathers, usually one or two at a time. If they lost all their feathers at once they could not fly or keep warm. It is the birds that have crests that seem to lose all their head feathers at once after breeding. In some cases what we are seeing is young birds losing their juvenile plumage to grow their first winter feathers.

Bird Sightings

Allan Keith unfortunately does not bird for Felix Neck during the Birdathon as he made a commitment to an off-Island group several years ago. He would have added several species to our list had he been able. On May 15 Allan heard one call of a Chuck-will’s-widow at Wintucket Cove at 9 p.m. Other good birds seen the same day included a willow flycatcher, Tennessee and Nashville and bay-breasted warblers, and a lesser scaup, all at Squibnocket. Allan also spotted a long-tailed duck at Norton Point, a bobwhite in the Menemsha Hills and an American pipit and tricolored heron on Chappaquiddick. The state forest produced a red-breasted nuthatch for Allan, and Aquinnah netted him an orchard oriole. A saltmarsh sparrow was found by Allan at Katama. The one interesting sighting was of a Bicknell’s thrush at Cape Pogue — it would have been nice if Allan had taken a photo!

Rob Culbert has been leading his Saturday morning bird walks from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School starting at 9 a.m. The last week in May he concentrated on warblers, and on May 23 he spotted American redstart, northern parula, yellow and pine warblers and common yellowthroat around the pumping station. On May 24, Rob and crew spotted a yellow-billed cuckoo. On May 29, Rob’s group spotted a black skimmer on Sarson’s Island and on May 30 watched indigo buntings at Gay Head Moraine as well as ovenbirds and common yellowthroats. Rob heard house wrens and prairie warblers at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport during last week also.

Pete Gilmore heard a yellow-throated vireo singing at Lanny McDowell’s house in West Tisbury on May 28. He also spotted black skimmers — two — at Sarson’s Island on May 28 as well as 15 ruddy turnstones and three very rufous sanderlings sporting breeding plumage. On May 30, Pete Gilmore was joined by Pete Lenkoski for a trip to Wintucket Cove area — near Cavanough Way — to try to find the Chuck-will’s-widow. They played a tape of the Chuck’s call and unfortunately only heard and saw whippoorwills. I joined Pete on May 30; at Great Rock Bight the best bird seen was a blue-winged warbler, while at Lucy Vincent’s Beach the bank swallows and black scoters caught our eyes.

Luanne Johnson heard a house wren on Chappaquiddick on May 21 and spotted a semipalmated plover and spotted sandpiper on the shore. She saws bank swallows on Moshup’s Trail in Aquinnah the same day.

Young killdeer are emerging from all sides of Tisbury Great Pond. Marilyn Hollinshead has a pair around her house near Pear Tree Cove, I have three youngsters running around the house near Big Sandy, and Ginny Jones reports young around Deep Bottom Cove. Young Everett Jones (seven years old) reported two pairs of American oystercatchers at the entrance of Tississa Cove around May 10.

Tim and Sheila Baird were pleased to see a female bobwhite in their yard the mornings of both June 1 and 2. The bad news, as Sheila noted, is that she is not on her nest raising a brood! The Bairds also watched cedar waxwings with nesting material in the Edgartown yard.

Matt Pelikan seems to have two (not a pair) orchard orioles serenading him at his Oak Bluffs home daily. Matt, along with Joe Bower and friends, heard a northern parula on Edgartown Great Pond on May 31. Matt also noted that an indigo bunting is singing and probably nesting near the Tashmoo overlook in Tisbury. Matt also verified that field sparrows and a hermit thrush have been singing in the state forest. A black-billed cuckoo paid a visit to his Oak Bluffs yard over Memorial Day weekend.

John Liller also reported cedar waxwings with nesting material at the other end of Edgartown at Sheriff’s Meadow. He also spotted a pair of mallards with four young, two piping plovers on Little Beach, chimney swifts, eastern kingbirds and a pair of Baltimore orioles to name a few of the long list he sent.

John Banks sent an e-mail with his sightings, which included a yellow-billed cuckoo, two eastern kingbirds and a ruby-throated hummingbird at Waterview Farm in Oak Bluffs all on May 30.

Please report your bird sightings to the Martha’s Vineyard Bird Hotline at 508-627-4922 or e-mail to birds@mvgazette.com.

Susan B. Whiting is the co-author of Vineyard Birds and Vineyard Birds II. Her Web site is vineyardbirds2.com.