Finally! The southward migration of songbirds is becoming more intense.
Now migrating shorebirds return as the calendar turns its page to June. Birders have crowded Island ponds and beaches as ruddy turnstones, short-billed dowitchers, red knots, sandpipers, and dunlin return to their summer homes.
October is the peak migration season, as birds fly south on clear, cool, and calm nights.
Report bird sightings to birds@mvgazette.com, and follow all the avian activity through our Bird News column.
November brings cooler weather and the arrival of winter residents, especially waterfowl. Transient migrants continue to be found, including some summer resident species, though they appear in newer numbers.
