One of the most impressive spectacles of the bird world is to be amidst a large swarm of tree swallows as they swirl, swoop and soar around you.

Four and Twenty Fish Crows By ROBERT A. CULBERT

Coniferous seeds in the boreal forests of Canada are in short supply this fall. And so the prediction is that many of the winter finches will head further south than they normally do. The first hint of this irruption is the abundance of red-breasted nuthatches over the past few weeks. They are reported from across the Island in numbers not seen in maybe five years.

For perhaps the first time in September, the weather was favorable for migrant birds to reach the Island.

Most of these birds will probably have left before you read this.

Solitary sandpipers are one of this week’s highlights. The other intriguing shorebird is the western willet.

It is September now — a new month and a new stage of avian migration.