In an attempt to get the radar posted as quickly as possible, I will be publishing “as I go” each morning. Therefore you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours (5-6am Central; 6-7am Eastern Time). We’ll test out this method for a few weeks and see how well it works… your feedback, of course, is most welcome!

National Overview

Spring migration continued last night with the heaviest movement along the east edge of the frontal boundary from Wisconsin to Texas. Migration continued over The Plains, the Ohio Valley and down into the southeastern U.S. where densities gradually decreased. The Northeast was under stronger northerly winds which extended down into the Mid Atlantic, stifling any migration there. Fallout conditions are possible along the frontal boundary where the migration cloud was intercepted by precipitation between midnight and early this morning.

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.

The Mid Atlantic and Northeast were quiet last night in terms of migration. I would have posted the New Jersey radar but after looking at it I realized it contained absolutely no information. There’s a chance you’ll see some birds move tonight before the wet stuff arrives, and the possibility of a fallout on Saturday morning, so stay tuned!

Wisconsin (Upper Midwest)

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

FALLOUT CONDITIONS POSSIBLE! Wisconsin was right along the eastern edge of the frontal boundary last night and migration was evident throughout the state into the early morning hours. Heavy precipitation moved in throughout the early morning effectively shutting down all migration activity as it passed. This was especially evident over La Crosse where the precipitation moved in around the peak of migration and put all birds down quite rapidly (all birds were down by ~2:00am). The Milwaukee radar is still down for service, but the Green Bay radar (not shown) did show a similar pattern although the precipitation moved in much later in the morning when many birds had already descended on their own. Therefore the chance for fallout conditions over the Upper Midwest will be highest in the western portion of the region where the frontal system moved in between midnight and 2:00am. If you experienced any heavy precipitation before daybreak, you may want to consider checking your local patch for grounded birds. Anyone around La Crosse should definitely check out the local patches for birds as I expect densities could be high and the chance for something interesting is definitely elevated. Please report back with your findings!

 

Good Birding,

 

David