Migration is heating up but mostly to our west

National NEXRAD and fronts at around midnight

National NEXRAD and fronts at around midnight

Regional Overview

The high pressure that was over the Ohio Valley has drifted east, keeping migration relatively quiet over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast last night. Storms to the south prevented much from entering the region but there was a light to moderate movement across Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. With the storms blocking an influx from the south, we will likely not be getting many regional first-of-spring records, but birds were moving and some of the birds that have been spotty in the last week will likely be more widespread today. A warm front is working its way north from Florida so it’s time to start getting excited about migrants!


I don’t always have time to comment on the radar in each state. To interpret it yourself, read the quick tutorial at the bottom of the page.

New York

Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.


Pennsylvania & New Jersey

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Ohio

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Maryland and Delaware

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Quick guide to interpreting the radar

On the top row (reflectivity radar), the images show the magnitude of migration. When birds are migrating, it looks like a donut shape around the center of the radar station.

The bottom row is the velocity radar. This shows the direction that the objects detected by the radar station are moving. Blues are moving towards the radar station, yellows and reds are moving away from the station. So for southbound migration, blue should be on the top half of the donut, yellow on the bottom half.

Watch for precipitation moving through during the night hours, this can cause birds to stop migrating in a concentrated area, creating the fabled ‘fallout’, particularly on nights with strong migration.

For more in depth info, watch this video.
For migration updates or other regions check-

Upper Midwest – Woodcreeper bu David La Puma
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird
I need your help! These reports will only be as good as the feedback I get on these updates. Please leave comments on interesting patterns of migration you are seeing in the field so I can incorporate some ground truthing to my forecasts and predictions. Thanks!