An eagerly anticipated arrival is that of the great crested flycatcher. Susan Shea is the first to spot one this year.

Completely unexpected is a sighting of a black-necked stilt on April 8. It is a vagrant on the Atlantic Coast.

The bird of the week is a prothonotary warbler, first spotted by Maria Thibodeau at Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary on April 8.

I wrote last week that the flood gates had opened, signaled by the arrival of multiple osprey, greater yellowlegs, piping plovers and double-crested cormorants.

Here they come! We have numerous documented osprey sightings.

No confirmed osprey sightings have been reported as of my writing this column.

Multiple observers found tree swallows on Feb. 24, and many found red-winged blackbirds as of Feb. 23.

A conspicuous species soon to arrive is the American robin, which will announce its presence by its loud caroling from the treetops.

The annual Christmas Bird Count was held on Dec. 30. Thirteen teams and feeder watchers tallied 18,679 birds of 119 species