lots of Blue Jay scolds

We don't think of Blue Jays as migrants as they are with us all year round -- depending, it is true, on the acorn crop. This morning dozens of jays were flying in from the south on a southwest/northeast trajectory. This may not sound like a migratory path but I have seen other large diurnal fliers on that path, notably Robins and Flickers, both of which are at least somewhat migratory. Many land birds migrate along the shore or even out a ways over the ocean at night and when night turns to day, they head inland for some R&R. The Blue Jays flock up after breeding season and, if the acorn crop north of us is not so good, they take off -- sometimes in good numbers -- to look for oak forests with a good acorn crop. Well, this year that's us! Not surprisingly, the parties or scolds of Blue Jays (yes those collective nouns are used for Blue Jay flocks) found and chased away a Merlin. Ken Thompson sent me the records for the Fire Island Hawk Watch and it strongly confirms Carl Safina's observation that Merlin migration in these parts peaks in late September. The winds were from the north/northwest but surprisingly mild. The most striking new arrival was a glowing yellow Scarlet Tanager -- probably a male in winter plumage rather than a female -- but I also saw an American Redstart and a Red-eyed Vireo. Perhaps if the north winds continue (as they are predicted to do) we can expect a few more new arrivals. Eric Salzman