Sandwiched between a strong cold front to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, birds took to the sky in good numbers 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.

 

As you can see in the regional composite, migration was hot and heavy along the east coast between the frontal boundary and the ocean. As the front pushed eastward into the early morning hours, winds shifted from strong SW to W and eventually NW. Migration was truncated in the western portion of the region as winds shifted and precipitation fell sooner in the night. Expect fallout conditions throughout Central NJ this morning where the change in winds and weather occurred between midnight and 2:00am this morning. Also expect coastal locations to have higher concentrations of migrants this morning due to the strong westerly push. Sandy Hook will be one of the best spots this morning and Cape May will be good as well, but locations throughout the Piedmont region are most likely to have concentrations of birds grounded by the storms- so if that’s your neck of the woods be sure to check your local patch this morning. Northwest winds should preclude much raptor migration today- but could bring another crop of interesting birds to the region (such as wandering Swallow-tailed or Mississippi Kites… or dare I say another Anhinga?).

Bring your rain gear today, though, as the forecast is calling for deteriorating conditions across the region by late morning.

Good Birding

David