Wow! The radar is ablaze tonight across the entire Eastern Flyway, most of the Mississippi Flyway and part of the Central Flyway. One could say that the floodgates are open after several weeks of poor to mediocre migration conditions.  Even tonight though, winds on the surface are variable and winds aloft have a northerly component, begging the question as to why so many birds are apparently migrating. My only suggestion is that since the winds are light, and the clear sky is providing a great “road map”, birds are feeling the need to breed and thus are pushing ahead. If you’d like to see the wind charts, you can do so by going to the Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) website. I like this site because it not only gives you the surface winds, but also the winds at 900mb (~3000 feet) and 850mb (~5000 feet).

Thus far it seems inevitable that we’ll be seeing new birds all over the state by morning. Local concentrations will most likely be highest at spring migrant traps, since no weather is expected to bring birds down, and winds are forecast to be light and variable. I’ll post the radar in the morning.

Get some sleep- there will be plenty of birds to find tomorrow!