Regional Overview
Inland locations that have been plagued with several days of limited migration should have gotten a very nice influx of birds last night. Central Pennsylvania finally got some birds showing up on the radar but it still looks like we are going to be waiting another day for a huge night of migration. The Ohio Valley exhibited the strongest migration and once again, Magee Marsh should be bubbling with migrants. The days of double digit warblers are here and some people will soon be racking up 20+ totals!
Looking across the country, there is a very interesting storm heading our way. We may see very heavy migration before it reaches us with a sharp cutoff where fallout could occur, depending on what time it moves through. That system is already bringing crazy overshoots to Pt Pelee where birders have found Painted Bunting, Dickcissel, Henslow’s Sparrow and Kentucky Warbler in the last few days.
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
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Ohio
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
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-
Upper Midwest – Woodcreeper by David La Puma
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird
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!