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

Mark your calendars for the 2021 Spring Migratory Bird Count on Sunday, May 16, 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Island Community Center. bring binoculars.

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.

Results from bird counts help scientists and conservation organizations chart bird populations and help us get a sense of the prevalence of different bird species in our area.

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 next Sunday for this fun outdoor event!