National Overview

Optimal migration conditions continue to migrate eastward with the frontal boundary. This set the stage for moderate to heavy movement last night from the eastern Gulf states through the northeastern U.S.

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

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!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

The birds were moving across the Mid Atlantic last night as light to moderate southerly flow blanketed the region at all altitudes. You can see from the velocity images that birds were headed in a general SSW->NNE trajectory early in the night, moving slightly NE into the early morning. The bulk of the migration flock appeared to be moving along the western edge of the Delmarva and New Jersey which means the greatest number of birds will be slightly inland this morning. I say slightly because the main trajectory axis still puts birds over the eastern Delaware Bay, Cape May, and Sandy Hook. With light WSW winds being reported this morning from Sandy Hook, you can’t go wrong. Otherwise expect birds to be here and there across the state this morning. Hit the migrant traps and pull double-duty by heading to one of the good raptor viewing areas or head over the Heislerville for some shorebird action.

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Both Davenport and Chicago were under light to moderate north winds last night, and as a result migration was light at best. Looking at the reflectivity you can see very few returns reaching into the 5-10 dbz range typical of bird migration. Otherwise there’s a fair amount of clutter being picked up. That said, movement from the SE->NW does indicate that some birds were taking to the sky.

Wisconsin

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

… and now it looks like Green Bay is down for the dual-polarization upgrade! Looking at the La Crosse and Milwaukee radars we do see some migration last night even under light north winds. That’s of little surprise, especially along the lake shore, given the big movements into the state over the last week (read: there are lots of birds in the system and some of them are chomping at the bit to get on with this migration!). With little influx into the south expect bird density to decrease in the southern half of the state and increase to the north. These birds include Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, etc. etc. New birds which arrived over the last few days should still be scattered around the state today so get out there and find them- and please report back with your findings once you’re done.

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula -  The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird