We all eagerly anticipate when the first osprey will return home to the Island.

The most unexpected bird this week is the Eastern phoebe reported by Mike Ditchfield, which he found in Dark Woods on Feb. 10.

Large flocks of grackles are not necessarily welcome at feeders.

Barrow’s goldeneyes are not very common in these parts, but it seems that at least one or two individuals show up in January or February.

Last week’s column gave an accounting of how my team fared in the field on a warm and wet 59th annual Christmas Bird Count.

Christmas Bird Counts are fun days, combining camaraderie, teamwork, and adventure as we search the land and sea for all the birds we can find.

True to predictions, this has been an invasion year for the irruptive northern species of the boreal forests.

Evening grosbeaks are a favorite of mine. They have been virtually absent for the past 10 years or so but this year they have been seen regularly for the past month.

Three species of mergansers visit the Vineyard at this time of the year. Two of them — the red-breasted and the hooded mergansers — are quite common, but the third is not.