It is that time of year again. Christmas Bird Counts are a tradition that is more than 100 years old.

Everybody, birders and non-birders alike, wants to see a snowy owl.

It is really starting to feel a bit more like winter. It is the arrival of our winter resident waterfowl that confirms the seasonal shift.

Crows are supposedly year-round residents in most of their range, but we have crows that migrate to Martha’s Vineyard for the winter.

Most of the spotted sandpipers are now well south of the Vineyard, as their migration peaks in August and September.

We saw these species last winter or last spring, so they are not new sightings for the year.