A weak cold front dipped into the Garden State last night, and prevented much of anything from entering from the south. Here’s the radar from sunset last night through 5:00am this morning.

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

You can see the cold front in the radar images, represented by a line of precipitation extending across Central NJ and the Delmarva Peninsula. The regional composite shows a moderate level of migration occurred in the southern Mid-Atlantic region, but cut off north of the Delmarva by the frontal boundary (which moved south through the night). A push of birds was apparent across the northern Chesapeake Bay, so new birds should be expected around the natural areas in that region. While I’m unfamiliar with any birding locations there, on Google Maps, Elk Neck State Park looks like a good choice. I’d love to hear from some Delmarva birders as to where in that region can be good for spring birding.

Further north in New Jersey, conditions were less conducive to migration. An early and small push of birds was evident into the southern half of the state, but quickly faded out as conditions deteriorated. Northwest winds will make things a little more interesting around Cape May, where we have the chance of some new birds making their way back down the peninsula… but don’t expect any major numbers given the light flight. To the north there was little in the way of movement, with only a small number of birds seen heading NW toward NY.

Of course, any day afield is a good day, so until next time…

Good Birding!

David