The winds they are a changin’

Regional Overview

The flight appeared strong last night with all the radar showing a heavy amount of migration overhead moving southward. Winds were light and from the north which enabled a heavy flight.

Overall there was not a lot in the way of weather events to concentrate birds. The composition of the flight should slowly be shifting as we start to see small numbers of later migrants. Connecticut Warblers and Orange-crowned Warblers are being found at various locations but maybe the most interesting anecdote is that recent flights had a strong component of American Redstarts. Kinglets, Lincoln’s Sparrows and even White-throated Sparrows should be appearing at the northern part of the region I cover in these updates and quickly filtering south.

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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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!