It’s always a matter of clearing out the cobwebs once migration begins. Every year I say I’ll get an earlier start, and every year I find myself buried in other work just as the season explodes around me. Well, this year is no different! Yesterday I did a little mid-afternoon birding around work and noticed a dearth of winter migrants around. At first I scanned the area for a sharp-shinned or cooper’s hawk, but after about 10 minutes of very little activity (in an area usually full of activity) I realized that birds may have moved out overnight. Well, after checking the radar, it appears they did! Last night, again, was no exception, although judging by the radar, we should see a bit of replacement this morning (as opposed to the night before, when migration was mostly an exodus out of NJ). The radar loops below include images from 9:00pm last night through 5:30am this morning, so migration was well under way at the beginning of the loops.
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Conditions last night were pretty good for nocturnal migration, especially over the mid-Atlantic, from central NC up through NJ. Winds turned more NW as one moves further north, and only a light amount of migration can be seen on the NYC radar, as compared to those further south. Coastal NC also was under less optimal winds, and therefore experienced the least amount of migration in the Mid-Atlantic region. Otherwise, winds were SSW in the southern half of the region, turning more westerly up into northern NJ. Westerly winds were more common at altitude, while surface winds tended to be more out of the SW.
Simply based on the time of year, I would expect this wave to be composed of short distance migrants. A report at 11:30pm last night from Andrew Farnsworth out of NYC reports…
“…an interesting assortment of calls from vocal migrants moving tonight in
NYC including Hermit Thrush (4), Brown Creeper (2), Red-breasted Nuthatch (2), White-throated Sparrow (8), and Song Sparrow (5) among
others. Not huge numbers (44 calls in the last 1.5 hours), but decent.”
With a moderate westerly component to the winds last night, I would expect NJ to get a fair number of these birds. This type of weather bodes well for Central NJ as well as coastal locations such as Sandy Hook, which lie at the NE boundary. Garret Mountain should see this influx this morning, but realize that the predominant species will likely be those which you’ve been seeing all winter, just clearing out of the southern Mid-Atlantic. Keep an eye out for Red-breasted Nuthatch, and the possible Pine, Yellow-throated, and LA Waterthrush warbler species. Spring has sprung, and it looks like there’s more on the way this weekend!
Good Birding
David