More migration, more showing up to the south

Regional Overview

No time this morning to post much of an analysis, but migration was pretty strong and several people were reporting good calling rates as birds flew overhead. Foggy conditions in some places were amplifying this effect as birds flew low. The lower flying birds are not as detectable on radar so the volume of migrants across NY may still be pretty strong despite looking more tempered across NY.

Delaware and Maryland look to have a nice set up for possible fallout conditions with the storms passing through and disrupting the strong migration. And now, I am off to go birding!


I don’t always have time to comment on the radar in each state. To interpret it yourself, read the quick tutorial at the bottom of the page.

New York

Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.


Pennsylvania & New Jersey

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Ohio

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Maryland and Delaware

Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.


Quick guide to interpreting the radar

On the top row (reflectivity radar), the images show the magnitude of migration. When birds are migrating, it looks like a donut shape around the center of the radar station.

The bottom row is the velocity radar. This shows the direction that the objects detected by the radar station are moving. Blues are moving towards the radar station, yellows and reds are moving away from the station. So for southbound migration, blue should be on the top half of the donut, yellow on the bottom half.

Watch for precipitation moving through during the night hours, this can cause birds to stop migrating in a concentrated area, creating the fabled ‘fallout’, particularly on nights with strong migration.

For more in depth info, watch this video.
For migration updates or other regions check-

Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth

I need your help! These reports will only be as good as the feedback I get on these updates. Please leave comments on interesting patterns of migration you are seeing in the field so I can incorporate some ground truthing to my forecasts and predictions. Thanks!