Birds continue to move up through the middle of the U.S. and taper off in the east


National Overview

A strong migration signal was apparent across the middle of the US from Texas to Minnesota as a series of surface lows make their way east across the Great Plains. Southerly flow along these fronts created the optimal migration weather which continued eastward to the Great Lakes and decreased to the East Coast where high pressure has once again set up northerly flow.

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/18/12
National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/18/12

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

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Base Reflectivity image from Fort Dix Base Velocity image from Fort Dix Base Reflectivity image from Dover AFB Base Velocity image from Dover AFB

Things were slow across the Mid Atlantic, especially along the coast. Washington D.C. showed the strongest flight across the region while the Carolinas were relatively quiet and NJ and DE experienced only a light flight. Most of these birds were heading due north, so I expect most birds to be distributed across the landscape today. Hit the interior ridges for the best bets at bird concentrations… although breeding birds and shorebirds are in, so why not go check them out while keeping an eye out for migrants?

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Base Reflectivity image from Davenport, IA Base Velocity image from Davenport, IA Base Reflectivity image from Chicago, IL Base Velocity image from Chicago, IL

With migration conditions improving every night now, birds are beginning to move into the region again. Last night we saw moderate migration across both IA and IL with most birds heading due north, if not a little NE, on SSW winds. Expect some shuffling of the deck across the board as new birds replace old ones in their march northward. We should be seeing more thrushes this morning as well as some of the later warblers such as Connecticut- so if you know their typical migratory haunts, check them out today!

Wisconsin

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

Base Reflectivity image from Milwaukee Base Velocity image from Milwaukee Base Reflectivity image from La Crosse, WI Base Velocity image from La Crosse, WI Base Reflectivity image from Green Bay, WI Base Velocity image from Green Bay, WI

As above, migration conditions have improved and more birds should be in the system today. With widespread migration across the state last night expect new birds throughout. With the trajectory of migration being S->N expect birds to be well distributed across the landscape- so hit the tried and true spring migrant traps this morning! One exception might be around Superior/Duluth since many birds appeared to be pushing up to the west end of Lake Superior this morning. Also west of the Door Peninsula, around Oconto and points north, should see some concentrations this morning.

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!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Reportby Team eBird

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/19/12
National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/19/12

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

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Base Reflectivity image from Fort Dix Base Velocity image from Fort Dix Base Reflectivity image from Dover AFB Base Velocity image from Dover AFB

Description coming soon…

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Base Reflectivity image from Davenport, IA Base Velocity image from Davenport, IA Base Reflectivity image from Chicago, IL Base Velocity image from Chicago, IL

Description coming soon…

Wisconsin

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

Base Reflectivity image from Milwaukee Base Velocity image from Milwaukee Base Reflectivity image from La Crosse, WI Base Velocity image from La Crosse, WI Base Reflectivity image from Green Bay, WI Base Velocity image from Green Bay, WI

Description coming soon…

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!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird


2 responses to “Birds continue to move up through the middle of the U.S. and taper off in the east”

  1. 1 Parula at work, 1 Redstart at my house – checked your radar – looked like might be some new stuff scattered around, so went out locally – slow, but new stuff scattered around! I hit a place north of Wheelabrator – close to my house.
    1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
    1 Canada Warbler
    1 Blackburnian Warbler
    2 Redstarts
    1 Blackpoll
    And I missed a few chip notes.

  2. Kickapoo Valley Reserve, 6:53 a.m. to 9:20 a.m.
    No new migrants today, except for one distant Nashville. Redstarts, Yellow Warblers, Com. Yellowthroats, one Blue-winged Warbler. I was there on Wednesday, very few migrant warblers; did see one Wilson’s Warbler.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

%d bloggers like this: