In late July adult shorebirds that nested successfully arrive, having left their fledglings alone on the Arctic tundra.

I do not normally get up at 5:30 on a Saturday morning.

It was a peaceful scene as I sat on a deck overlooking a lake in the northern Adirondacks, with spruce trees along the shoreline reflecting on the calm waters.

Last week the southbound migration of shorebirds started with a few sightings of spotted sandpipers, glossy ibis, black-bellied plovers and lesser yellowlegs.

The weather is getting hot as I write this on July 4.

The Fourth of July, which can be called the peak of the nesting season for beach-nesting birds is this weekend.