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.

Learn how

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Migration tools

ACTIVE
Forecasting ends Nov 15, 2023

Migration Dashboard

Explore nightly migration data in your region.  Learn more

Bird migration forecast maps

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

Local bird migration alerts

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

Live bird migration maps

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
Live migration map preview image

Recent news

Cyclones

Tracking Ophelia: observations after land fall
By Andrew Farnsworth The Cornell Lab Sep 23, 2023

Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall this morning in North Carolina, and, with safety first we are tracking observations of storm-driven birds reported in the wake of its passage.  Read more

The passage of Lee in the Canadian Maritimes
By Andrew Farnsworth The Cornell Lab Sep 15, 2023

Hurricane Lee is making its way toward Nova Scotia, with landfall predicted on Saturday midday. With safety first above all, the BirdCast team highlights an observation map and some additional predictions about species that might be entrained and displaced by this storm.  Read more

Current species distribution around the Lee-impacted region
By Andrew Farnsworth The Cornell Lab Sep 15, 2023

For those watching the arrival of Hurricane Lee, the BirdCast team though it might be useful to see a map of some of the species presently in the region predicted to experience impacts from Lee in the very near future.  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.
Learn more

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

Core partners

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Colorado State University UMass Amherst

Core funders

National Science Foundation Leon Levy Foundation AWS Lyda Hill Philanthropies Amon G. Carter Foundation

Other support

USGS The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation NASA Microsoft NOAA BiodivERsA Belmont Forum European Commission

Lights Out partners

Houston Audubon Texas Conservation Alliance Texan by Nature Perot Museum of Nature and Science Dallas Zoo
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