It always takes me awhile to get the old engine started after a summer hiatus… this morning was no different. I even tried to hit the snooze and postpone the inevitable one more hour, but after lying awake for 20 minute, realized that I should just get up, download the radar, and begin the fall migration study. I thought I’d share that with you, just in case you thought I was crazy and jumped out of bed each morning with wild abandon…maybe by mid-September…

Okay, here it goes!

Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.

Birds were on the move last night, as a cold front pushed eastward to the coast during the late evening. Just after sunset most of the activity was concentrated along the western portion of the state, as northwest winds had built in earlier in the day. As the night progressed, though, moderate densities of migration birds can be seen across the entire region. Most of the movement was from N–>S as the winds went slack during the night (ie. no westerlies to push large concentrations of birds to the coast). Still, given Cape May’s fall history, the best bet for this morning will probably be down there. Inland sites such as Chimney Rock (positioned at the southern end of the Watchung mountains, the northern bend being the spring migration hotspot Garret Mountain) could see some good movement of birds along the ridge as well. No weather present to cause localized fallouts, so pick your sites based on their reliability during fall migration. As has been customary in the past, please come back and let us know what you’re seeing. I look forward to all of your comments and observations this fall season.

Good Birding

David

P.S. I have begun posting my 5-day migration forecast for the Mid-Atlantic on Birdcapemay.org

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