By all accounts the breeding season is in full swing. The shorebirds that nest on our beaches and marshes are escorting their chicks around. Even the smallest piping plover chicks are already running around and gathering their own food as their parents “only” help them regulate their body temperatures by brooding or shading them while also training them to recognize danger and how to react accordingly. Other species are not so lucky, and have to feed their chicks as well.

Many baby songbirds have already fledged, which means they are mostly feathered, and have already left their nests. Most of these fledglings are still being fed and cared for by their parents, although they are learning how to gather their own food. Because of these fledglings, there are many more birds around, and the activity of these families makes the birds easier to find.

Many of us have observed fledglings recently. Both Jessica Burnham and Scotty Goldin have been watching families of barn swallows on their nests in barns. Soon they will be flying. I observed lots of barn swallow fledglings perched on the fencing at Tea Lane farm on June 28. Zac Sweeney has been watching a family of tufted titmice in Oak Bluffs, as has Holly Mercier in Edgartown. Lindsay Trance and Sharon Simonin have been observing families of great crested flycatchers. Gus Ben David has been observing a family of Baltimore orioles.

My Saturday morning guided birding tour observed tern chicks being fed by their parents at Little Beach in Edgartown, and we observed a family of black-capped chickadees in the woods at the nearby Sheriff’s Meadow Preserve. And I have been watching families of blue jays and catbirds feed their fledglings in my yard.

It is quite easy to recognize a fledgling, as its feathers are not fully grown, giving them a scruffy look, and they still may have white down feathers in many places. Their beaks may also be slightly larger and wider than the adults’ beaks, providing a larger target for the parents to stuff food into. If you are listening to the fledglings — they can be very noisy — their vocalizations will change as food is stuffed into their mouth. A fledgling begging for food may also be fluttering its wings.

Most fledglings will look like their parents, as in chickadees, titmice and blue jays. Some fledglings may resemble the female parent, as in cardinals and many of the warblers. But other fledglings do not resemble either of their parents, as do young robins with their streaked breasts, great crested flycatchers, eastern towhees and others. These different plumages can make some interesting identification challenges.

But remember, the parents are always nearby, even if they do not tend the fledgling when you are nearby.

When you see a fledgling by itself, it is best to back away and watch as a parent arrives to take charge. The only time we should interfere is if the fledgling is in danger, for example, in a driveway or a road. It is a good idea to keep your cats indoors at this time of the year, as they will easily catch and kill the unsuspecting and untrained fledglings.

Bird Sightings

Catbirds are everywhere! Dale Carter and John Nelson have commented that catbirds are much more abundant this year than in any other year. We can only wonder why they are so common this year. Was productivity from last year’s nests particularly high?

Helen Neumann found a dead adult northern gannet in full breeding plumage on Squibnocket Beach on June 26. June is probably the only month when gannets are not seen regularly in our waters as they are supposed to be on their more northern breeding grounds.

On June 28, Sue Shea enjoyed watching a ruby-throated hummingbird at her feeder.

Warren Woessner observed two short-billed dowitchers on the tidal flats of Norton Point beach on June 23. There was a strong southerly breeze that day, and he also observed a Cory’s shearwater over the ocean that was blown close to shore. The next day Flip Harrington observed nine Cory’s in Vineyard Sound.

Nora Papian found a lot of shorebirds on the Tisbury Great Pond barrier beach on June 28. They included four species of plovers (killdeer, piping, black-bellied and semipalmated), and four species of sandpipers (white-rumped, semipalmated, sanderling and greater yellowlegs). Except for the black-bellied plover, these shorebirds are in their breeding plumage, which means they are likely the first southward migrants and that their nesting attempt failed in the short Arctic summer. The black-bellied is more likely a one-year-old bird or a weakened adult that did not make it to the Arctic to breed. Ms. Papian also observed a lesser black-backed gull on the ocean beach.

Sharon Simonin found a great blue heron in the marshes adjacent to Farm Pond in Oak Bluffs on June 28. Soo Whiting has also observed a great blue heron on Tisbury Great Pond, along with seven great egrets and four green herons. Great blues are not very common on the Island at this time of the year, as they are supposed to be in their nesting colonies and there are no such colonies in southeastern Massachusetts.

The black skimmers of Little Beach are still active.

Nathalie Woodruff observed a blue jay that was mimicking the scream of a red-tailed hawk. This happens quite a bit, but we seldom actually observe the jay’s imitation.

Steve Allen and Al Sgroi led their early birders group around Felix Neck on June 25 and found two snowy egrets and at least six willets. Other species they have seen there include green heron, belted kingfisher, great egret, and black skimmer. This last species is making its way around Sengekontacket Pond, as Anne Lemenager found one skimming over the pond off Farm Neck. Closer to their nesting site of Little Beach in Edgartown, David Dollenmayer and Linda Pape observed one foraging in Sheriff’s Meadow Pond and nearby Butler’s mudhole. Their first hatched young are getting large and will soon be flying.

Gus Ben David has been having four wood ducks visiting his ponds until recently. They are no longer visiting as they are now flightless, having molted all their outer wing feathers at one time, and the males have lost their bright colors and have molted into a dull eclipse plumage.

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.