Strong coastal flight + a migration alert for the weekend

Regional Overview

Last night migration stuck largely to the coast as the leading edge of the weekends front brought south winds to much of the rest of the region. Click on the animated wind map above and locations with strong migration align precisely with areas of light wind. With the strong coastal movement, migrant traps along the coast should be hopping this morning. Elsewhere there was a smaller flight so there may be new birds around but they will likely be widely scattered across the landscape.

Weekend Migration alert
This big front working its way east comes with winds that are blowing strongly in our favor. Of particular interest will be movements of raptors along the ridges of the Appalachians, and gulls, terns, jaegers, waterbirds that are moving along the shores of the Great Lakes. Get out there and find something great!


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-

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!