It’s about time. I got an email from Wayne Smith with an attached photograph of a hawk at the nest containing three chicks. Finally, with that photo, the red-shouldered hawk becomes the newest species known to nest on the Island.

Like many tourists, the red-shouldered hawk has for a long time been a frequent visitor to the Vineyard, arriving from the mainland but never choosing to set down roots. This spring, however, what is believed to be the first nesting pair on the Island was discovered in West Tisbury.

Yesterday's full moon, the Honey Moon, will continue to dominate our evening skies through this weekend. The moon is brilliant.

The paths have moved, the dunes are flatter and there isn’t as much sand as there once was. But the south shore has come a long way since three destructive storms hit the Island this winter, and managers say they are ready for summer crowds.

The continuing story this spring is another cloudy rainy day with wind from the North and Northeast. Birdwatchers love their breeding birds but the challenge is finding migrants that you don’t regularly encounter.

Death is delicious if you are a carrion beetle.