Regional Overview
The radar showed pretty heavy migration across the East Coast last night as clear skies and north winds finally aligned across the region. The only precipitation that showed up across the region were small scattered storms across parts of NY and PA. If you experienced any of these last night, there is a good chance of high concentrations of birds at nearby hotspots.
Since the skies were relatively clear for the night, most of the migrants are probably widely spread across the landscape. Your usual fall hotspots should maybe see an increase in birds this morning, but the biggest difference will be a changeover of species. We should start to see new arrivals such as Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, and White-throated Sparrow.
Other birds are really starting to clear out such as Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and several of the swallow species.
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
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Pennsylvania & New Jersey
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Ohio
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Ohio prediction coming soon…
Maryland and Delaware
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Prediction coming soon…
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!