Well, after two nights of sub-optimal wind conditions to our north, things finally shaped up for widespread nocturnal migration last night. 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.

Upper-level winds appear to have been the key to last night’s migration, with most stations reporting a shift from WSW to WNW in the hours around sunset. The radar indicated moderate to heavy migration across the Great Lakes region, with decreasing densities moving northeast into New England (where winds failed to come around). Enough birds made it out of New York, though, to give New Jersey and Pennsylvania a real shot in the arm today! Looking at both the Fort Dix and Dover radar loops you can see heavy migration throughout most of the night with birds being funneled down to the east-southeast. This will definitely favor coastal hotspots this morning, and Sandy Hook, Island Beach State Park and Cape May should all be birded at first-light. If you can’t get to the coast, inland sites should also be good this morning. The sheer number of birds moving through the pipe last night should ensure turnover at most sites, and any fall migrant traps along the Delaware River, or throughout the interior state, could hold birds this morning.

The buoy at Sandy Hook is reporting west winds at 7 knots, and given the density of birds heading out of Long Island last night, this will likely be a good fall day for The Hook. I would expect the morning flight at Cape May to be good this morning as well. Judging from the radar it looks like most birds dropped out of the sky in the early morning hours (around 2:00am) which is pretty typical especially early in the season. Still, with the number of birds apparently pushed to the east, I would expect some birds to be coming off of the water back towards land in the early daylight hours. Any reports of birds behavior (direction of flight in relation to the wind, observations of birds coming in off of the water, or coming down from high altitude, etc.) would be most welcome- so make sure you stop back and let everyone know what you saw!

Good Birding

David