There are even a few birds that show up in late June (notably Short-billed Dowitchers; I've seen 'em myself). But a more general migration usually gets underway by mid-July when warblers, shore birds and some others start to move. Unlike spring migration (when birds are in a hurry to get to the nesting grounds), the fall migration is leisurely and somewhat protracted -- mid-July to mid-October and later -- as birds seek out good feeding grounds to fatten up and get ready for the long haul.
I have mentioned the flocking up of Common Grackles as an extra-early sign of fall but this morning I had a better one: a Least Sandpiper that popped up peeping right out of the marsh. Leasts are very easy to recognize from their calls (don't call 'em 'peeps' for nothing) but they also have a very distinctive hunched flight silhouette and mode of flying with stiff wingbeats. The effect is a little like that of a Spotted Sandpiper but, unlike their Spotted counterparts, they are much smaller and rather uniformly brown. If there's a peep on this side of the bay, there will be a lot more down by the ocean.
Eric Salzman
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