A is for American avocet. B is for hurricane Bill that probably brought this fancy shorebird to our shores. C is for the camaraderie caused by this unusual sighting for the Vineyard birders.

Fall bird migration is beginning. Shorebirds are arriving daily and the appearance of northern waterthrushes (a warbler that doesn’t nest here) and peregrine falcons is a true indication that our feathered friends are headed south. Common nighthawks which are members of the Caprimulgidae (Goatsucker) family should be arriving soon. These are hawklike birds which capture insects on the wing with their huge mouths. They hunt in the daylight hours unlike their cousins, although the early evening seems to be their favorite time to move. They can often be heard before seen. Their call is a nasal “peent.”

Are they shorebirds, sandpipers or waders, those small birds we see at the beach, on the sand and mud flats, or in plowed fields? They can be called all of the above. Why don’t they argue over the food that is available in the areas where they feed side by side? The answer is that each and every bird has a different sized and shaped bill and feeds in slightly different areas for somewhat dissimilar foods.

The Chilmark Community Center birding group had the pleasure of driving out on Norton Point with Nan Harris on August 4. Page Rogers had e-mailed photos of a marbled godwit that she had taken the day before at Norton Point. Marbled godwits are rare visitors to the Vineyard with only five records prior to this one, so this trip was to target the marbled godwit.

Even the best, most advanced and careful observers can misidentify birds. Last Friday, July 24, I received a message from two good Vineyard birders that they had spotted an upland plover in the plowed squash fields at the Farm Institute. This is a common fall migrant in small numbers and is fun to see. I couldn’t make it to the Farm Institute Friday, but made a date with Lanny McDowell and Pete Gilmore to go on Saturday.