Strong southerly flow on the east side of the latest cold front has shut down migration over the northeastern and mid-Atlantic US. Right now it looks like we could see some nocturnal migration on Tuesday night although east winds will most likely push and disperse birds inland rather than concentrate them along the coast.
Good Birding
David
2 responses to “No migration along the east coast”
In eastern PA, I had a surprisingly good morning (compared to other days this long weekend). I had several warblers including Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, and Nashville. Eastern Wood-Pewees were everywhere.
Thanks for the post Corey. After reviewing years of radar data I feel confident that the radar picks up some migration almost every night during the spring and fall- but how this gets translated into birding conditions is far less clear. On some nights birds are probably making localized movements- either reorienting from previous flights (so we know a lot about morning flight- but what about nocturnal redirection?) or making smaller more localized movements toward the ultimate migration goal. I think these events are more pronounced after several ‘bad’ migration nights- so that you have lots of birds bottled up in the system rearing to go. In any case, it’s great to have your observations documented as it helps make the connection (or lack thereof) between the migration event on the radar and the conditions on the ground. On that note, the lack of migration here in Cape May has meant a great re-findable Vermivora flock containing a female Golden-winged Warbler, several putative Blue-wings, and at least two hybrids.