Regional Overview
It has been a really long dry spell for the East Coast but things are looking up. Migration was moderate over Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey for the first time in over a week which should bring in a broad diversity of warblers and other migrants. Central Pennsylvania has the potential for some fallout as rain drifted southward through the area during the early morning hours. Further west, Ohio still experienced little migration but that should change over the next few days as well.
I am just getting back from the Biggest Week in American Birding, which was a fantastic place to socialize even if the birds were a little sparse. Look for more in depth migration forecasts as it really kicks into high gear to make up for lost time!
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
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Ohio
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Maryland and Delaware
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
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 by 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!