2022 Spring Bird Count

(l-r) Osprey (Bill Colman Photo) and mourning doves (Justine Kibbe Photo) have been sighted in previous Spring Migratory Bird Counts.

After wintering in warmer climates, migratory birds are returning their northern breeding grounds via the Atlantic Flyway and we need your help charting these bird populations and getting a sense of which species are prevalent in our area.

Mark your calendars for the 2022 Spring Migratory Bird Count Sunday, May 8, 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Island Community Center. Bring binoculars. Dr. Adam Mitchell from Tarleton State University, and the University of Delaware team of Emily Baisden and Will Almeida will again lead the bird count and answer questions about migratory birds.

Click here to RSVP for the Bird Count

Following Audubon bird count rules, birders will make 15 five-minute stops from West End to East End. At each timed stop, birders count birds and call out what they see.

We’re fortunate that Fishers Island is on the Atlantic Flyway, a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. Migrating songbirds descend on woods and thickets, along ponds and next to streams, to feed on the insects that fuel their migrations.

May is the peak month for songbird migration, when birds travel (usually at night) from their wintering grounds in South and Central America to breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada.

Ornithologists estimate that each spring, 2.5 billion to 3.5 billion songbirds are on the move across the United States. Between 90 and 100 species of songbirds pass through the state of New York in May, according to Andrew Farnsworth, a senior research associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y.

We hope to see you at this fun, informative outdoor event, celebrating the spring season at Fishers Island. Don’t forget to RSVP here!