This past weekend was one of the biggest so far for nocturnal migrants. Here’s the radar from Friday night through this morning. I’m sorry for the late post, but I was busy studying Jaegers, Shearwaters and Storm Petrels off the coast of Maine.
All images are from sunrise to sunset
09.18.04 – 09.19.04
Here you can see the front, coupled with the remnants of hurricane Ivan, as they make their way across our area.
09.18.04 – 09.19.04
Aghh, the big fall pulling-of-the-plug!
A nice clear night with light NW winds in mid-September. Look at how the radar lights up after sunset and a massive movement of birds head over our area. I expect that the coastal sights had a great morning on Sunday! I was in Maine with the lab brothers, Blake and Ben. We had a great time on the Maine Audubon pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor. Aside from the fantastic seabird action, the morning flight of migrants out at sea included 7 species of warblers, a handful of Northern Flickers, flycatcher sp., Cedar Waxwing, Merlins and a Sharpie!
09.19.04 – 09.20.04
Let the festivities continue.
Another clear night with optimal conditions means more birds on the move. The radar lights up as expected with an impressive density, although slightly less than the night before.
2 responses to “3 Days: Front brings mega migration over NJ”
OK, I’m really trying to understand this technology. In the second set of images (9/18 – 9/19) there’s a sudden shift from blues to reds at 6:23. I’m thinking that this has to be a switch between precipitation and clear air mode, but I don’t see any indication of that, nor do I know which is which. Or am I completely wrong?
And, if you go to the Mt. Holly National Weather Service site, which image does this one match up with?
Susan
Yup- you’re right- it is the switch from precip to clear-air. If you go to the Mt. Holly site, it matches up with the short-range base reflectivity. The “switching” between modes happens automatically, and the image that is presented to you (or me) is determined by the provider. The blue/green radar is the precip mode, where the red/yellow/orange/purple is the clear air.
cheers
David