North winds slow migration in east, tonight could be more of the same

Regional Overview

Ohio and western PA saw heavy migration last night but east of there it was much lighter. Light winds from the north and a stationary front sitting over PA were the cause for the less than exciting migration. That being said, there are a lot of migrants around and many were heading north. Migrant traps should be excellent and it is definitely worth checking spruces and flowering trees for Cape May Warblers and other boreal warblers that are migrating though now. The eastern seaboard also saw a heavier migration as the radar over Delaware and New Jersey detected high densities of birds moving north.

Tonight it looks like that stationary front will be still sitting somewhere near the Maryland-Pennsylvania line which may produce another light night of migration on less than perfect conditions.


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!