Did you hear anything go bump in the night? Wow! Those were some serious thunderstorms that came charging across the Mid-Atlantic! Not much in the way of migration, but that’s all about to change. Here’s the radar from sunset yesterday through 5:00am this morning.

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

The system that moved across our region did so during what would have been the prime migration period. In fact, it started to get downright nasty in my backyard just before sunset. This appears to have kept the vast majority of birds from migrating, as the radar showed very little besides the heavy precipitation. A very minimal amount of what appears to be migrating birds could be seen over New Jersey between the two heavy bands of precipitation, and even that is hard to confirm. Most of the migration was apparent over the VA and Washington DC radars where birds were headed NE and N respectively. The heaviest migration last night, though, was over the gulf states and Florida, where high densities of birds could be seen making their way up all three flyways. Given the weather we have on tap, we should be seeing our share of heavy migration starting tonight.

The low pressure system associated with the last cold front was a beast! And it’s not done yet. Right now the forecast has it moving up over Maine, and it looks like a second system will form to its west, resulting in a mega system packing some serious precipitation (snow and rain over eastern Canada). For us it means a new frontal boundary forming to our west, which will continue strengthening the SW->NE wind gradient throughout the day and into tonight. Expect heavy migration tonight, with calm upper-level winds over the Southeastern US, and strengthening SW winds over the Mid-Atlantic. New birds will be spread throughout the region tomorrow, but high concentrations are sure to be found along the coast from Cape May to Sandy Hook to Long Island.

Good Birding

David