I was asked recently just how many birds have been seen on the Vineyard. This is a question that, depending on the birder, will result in different answers. Barbara Pesch and I list 386 species in our book Vineyard Birds II. Allan Keith and Stephen Spongberg in their book Island Life on the other hand report 405. Why is there such a gap in the two lists one might ask?

It was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds. Trudy Taylor called and Bob Shriber e-mailed me to describe the scene that occurred on Saturday, Sept. 5. Hundreds of laughing gulls were flying overhead along the Lobsterville Beach. They were acting like swallows, swooping down and up, combing the air for insects. It turns out that the gulls were catching flying ants that had hatched from the beach and dunes.

The magic of migration is happening. The honking of Canada geese pierces the silence and peace and quiet of dawn. Our birdbath has new visitors that we haven’t spotted since last fall, and avid Vineyard birders are waking before sunup to migrate to Aquinnah or Gay Head.

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.