National Overview

High pressure over most of the U.S., east of the Rockies, allowed for another moderate to heavy nocturnal migration event last night. A weak stationary front extending from Minnesota down to the Mid-Atlantic formed the northern boundary of the heaviest migration, although conditions north of the front were still conducive to some migration as is evident in this national composite. Densities continue to be highest in the south with the heaviest flight apparent over northern Florida and the eastern Gulf states. A stronger cold front is moving across the U.S. and some storm activity associated with it could be seen over Central to East Texas last night, deteriorating the optimal migration conditions we saw in previous nights. Expect this cold front to move west and strengthen into Tuesday. As it does, southerly flow along the frontal boundary will also continue and should trigger heavy migration from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes (into Wednesday AM).

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 5:00am this morning

New Jersey (Mid-Atlantic)

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

Bang! So last night we saw another typical spring flight across the Garden State, but this time with a little more oomph! Densities were higher than two nights ago and more of the state appears to have been covered by the migration cloud. Expect new birds at spring stopover locales throughout the state this morning with the best locations lying along either side of the I-95 corridor. I would expect anyone birding Garret Mountain to see an influx of early spring migrants today.

Wisconsin (Upper Midwest)

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

As mentioned above, the Upper Midwest lies north of a stationary front which appears to have dampened the magnitude of migration over the region, although in no way did it preclude a flight. Both the Milwaukee and La Crosse radars indicated a moderate flight of nocturnal migrants last night with most birds apparently heading SSW->NNE over the state. Expect new birds to be present (but dispersed) across the region today with the highest concentrations more likely at typical spring hotspots (such as Pheasant Branch Conservancy). Expect species diversity to remain consistent with the last week as the system is full of short distance migrants such as sparrows, juncos, kinglets (these should be building!), and Eastern Bluebirds, as well as early migrants such as Eastern Phoebe. I think we’re due for an early Pine Warbler so keep your ears peeled around those pine stands, and please report back to let us know what you saw.

Good Birding

David