| Birds: Behavior | Fall Migration in Massachusetts by Simon Perkins, Mass Audubon Field Ornithologist
More birds frequent Massachusetts during fall migration than at any other time of the year. And, while the annual autumn exodus doesn’t feature all the vivid breeding plumage and songs that spring migration brings, it more than makes up for the lack of pageantry with sheer numbers. This swelling of the ranks is due in part to the fact that the millions of southbound birds that pass through our state (or at least through the airspace over the state) each fall include not only the adults from the past spring migration but also their offspring hatched during the summer.
 Different species migrate on different schedules. Some southbound shorebirds return to Massachusetts from their arctic-tundra breeding grounds as early as the beginning of July while a few species of ducks don’t return to the state until November. In this regard, "fall migration" is somewhat of a misnomer since southbound birds are migrating through New England for the better part of six months.
Yet, despite the vast numbers and the protracted period of time during which various species are moving, many features of bird migration are highly ephemeral or very limited in geographical scope. So, if we birders don’t know exactly where or when these events take place, we can miss them entirely.
Hudsonian godwits, very large sandpipers that spend the winter in southern South America, are typically present as migrants in Massachusetts from July through mid-November. However, unless you look in just the “right” places, your chances of seeing them are slim. The only “right” places in New England are Plum Island and Newburyport Harbor and the islands and outer beaches of south Chatham.
Despite the fact that broad-winged hawks nest in Massachusetts, they can be very difficult to find because they spend much of their time in deep forest. But, during a brief one-week window in mid-September, this species is much easier to see as tens of thousands of broad-winged hawks coming from points north of Massachusetts move through here on their way to Central and South America. In many years, the vast majority of these migrant hawks pass in as short a period as one or two days, and the record count on a single day in the state stands at roughly 20,000.
As a whole, bird migration is extraordinarily complex. But, when viewed a little at a time, the smaller pieces begin to fit together and the bigger picture becomes clearer. This fall try sharpening your focus by finding out where and when to look for a few of the smaller pieces.
This article was originally published in Connections, Vol 1, Number 3, August 2003
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