MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MIGRANTS | © Charley Harper Art Studio | Used with Permission

Showcasing the spectacle of bird migration

When, where, and how far will birds migrate? How many birds passed last night? Our tools help you explore the answers to these and many other questions about bird migration.

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Migration tools

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Explore nightly migration data in your region.  Learn more

Bird migration forecast maps show predicted nocturnal migration 3 hours after local sunset and are updated every 6 hours. Colorado State University and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology currently produce these forecasts.  Learn more

Forecast map: Day 1
Forecast map: Day 2
Forecast map: Day 3
Forecast map: Day 1
Forecast map: Day 2
Forecast map: Day 3

Search with our local migration alert tool to determine whether birds are passing overhead near your city tonight!  Learn more

See real-time analysis maps of intensities of actual nocturnal bird migration, as detected by the US weather surveillance radar network between local sunset to sunrise. Cornell Lab of Ornithology currently produces these maps.

Play live bird migration maps

Recent news

By Andrew Farnsworth The Cornell Lab Oct 07, 2024

Hurricane Milton is a powerful and very dangerous storm. Birds have been reported traveling in its eye, and as the storm approaches landfall, bioscattered is visible in proximity to the eye of the storm.  Read more

By Andrew Farnsworth The Cornell Lab Sep 24, 2024

Hurricane Helene is a dangerous storm predicted to make landfall on Thursday afternoon eastern time in the Florida Panhandle. Its circulation will entrain pelagic birds, displace nearshore species, and down overland migrants in many areas of the southeast and probably as far north as Tennessee and maybe even Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. We are following the progress of the storm and posting observations here.  Read more

By Andrew Farnsworth, Doug Gochfeld, and Marshall Iliff The Cornell Lab Sep 20, 2024

Keep your eyes open for Northern Wheatear in northeastern North American in the coming days - go birding and help make us look good by documenting this species! Time of year and prevailing weather appear to be aligning to warrant us donning our prediction hats!  Read more

All news

NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data from Miguel Román, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Lights Out

Every spring and fall, billions of birds migrate through the US, mostly under the cover of darkness. This mass movement of birds must contend with a dramatically increasing but still largely unrecognized threat: light pollution.

BirdCast Partners and Support

BirdCast is a consortium of interdisciplinary researchers, primarily from three organizations at present, with a growing list of collaborators, supporters, and partners.  Learn more

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