While the West saw early and late forecast period light to moderate movements along the Pacific Coast and in the Desert Southwest including Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Bullock’s Oriole, scattered light to moderate movements peaking on Tuesday and Wednesday nights including Greater White-fronted Goose, Blue-winged Teal, Barn Swallow, Brown Thrasher, Lapland Longspur, Vesper Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow increased in the East.
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The Central Mississippi and Ohio River valleys were the active portions of the region last weekend, though active is an overstatement as migration was generally light to moderate. A disturbance moving into and across the region on Tuesday and Wednesday nights saw southerly winds and warming temperatures with its advance, facilitating slightly more widespread movements of the same magnitude from the Ohio River valley and northern Appalachians east to the Atlantic. This disturbance grew into a substantial cold front that ended the period by shutting down most movements with its passage.
Local light to moderate movements bookended the weekend to kick off the forecast period, although most movements were at best and primarily close to the immediate Gulf and Florida coasts as precipitation passed through the region. Monday though Wednesday nights saw these movements reach their greatest extents, particularly in Texas and Florida. But by the end of the forecast period, the southern limits of a passing cold front shut down most movements away from central and southern Florida, where moderate movements highlighted incoming migrants from Cuba.
The central and southern Plains experienced scattered light to moderate movements over the weekend. With the exception of continued migration in Oklahoma on Monday night, these movements all but shutdown as low pressure moved in the region. The arrival and continued presence of unsettled and generally marginal or unfavorable conditions kept most migrants grounded for the remainder of the period.
Widely scattered and primarily light movements kicked off the weekend in parts of California and the Desert Southwest, continuing in similar fashion into the middle of the work week. Other areas of the West experienced scattered but at times significant precipitation, keeping birds grounded where it fell. However, the departure of these disturbances brought more extensive light to moderate movements to end the period on Wednesday and Thursday nights, particularly from the Pacific Northwest south and east through the Desert Southwest.