An estimated 2,800 birds were migrating over the Vineyard on the night of August 14, with a peak of 800 birds flying at dawn on August 15.
Mourning doves are seldom mentioned in this column because they are common.
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.
Last week the southbound migration of shorebirds started with a few sightings of spotted sandpipers, glossy ibis, black-bellied plovers and lesser yellowlegs.
The Fourth of July, which can be called the peak of the nesting season for beach-nesting birds is this weekend.