A late period arrival of favorable conditions will see light to moderate movements, primarily waterfowl, in the West, while the first half of the period in the East will see moderate flights scattered across the region.
Wondering what species are migrating through right now? Check out our analysis for the past 7 days.
Arrows show wind speed and direction (arrow points in the direction to which wind is blowing) 100 m above ground level. Areas with southerly winds are colored red; northerly winds colored blue. Accumulated precipitation (in 6 hour intervals) is green, outlined by white. Broadly speaking, areas of the map in blue will experience conditions that are favorable for migration, and areas where blue and green (and red and blue) intersect and overlap may experience migrant concentrations and fallouts as migrants interact with precipitation.
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With the passage of another cold front and the arrival of more seasonally appropriate temperatures, the weekend will bring moderate to locally heavy flights in the Upper Midwest and New England. Patches of favorable conditions persist in the region and span the remainder of period from Sunday through Thanksgiving, and where conditions are favorable light to moderate flights will continue. Note in particular another substantial frontal boundary is forecast to pass through the region later in the work week, and birders should watch carefully for possible displacements of late season western vagrants. Additionally, coastal interests should monitor the winds after Thanksgiving, as coastal flights of waterfowl and near shore pelagic birds are likely on the following Friday and Saturday.
We don’t have any species to highlight here for this week.
Peaking Arrivals
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
Snow Goose
*
18-Sep
21-Nov
26-Dec
-
-
Common Merganser
**
13-Oct
25-Nov
22-Dec
After Dec 31
-
Snowy Owl
*
8-Nov
25-Nov
After Dec 31
-
-
Short-eared Owl
*
11-Oct
27-Nov
18-Dec
-
-
Beginning Departures
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
Bufflehead
***
18-Oct
1-Nov
21-Nov
4-Dec
13-Dec
Tundra Swan
**
25-Oct
6-Nov
22-Nov
5-Dec
13-Dec
Red-throated Loon
*
16-Oct
3-Nov
22-Nov
5-Dec
15-Dec
Rufous Hummingbird
*
27-Oct
8-Nov
22-Nov
6-Dec
16-Dec
Ash-throated Flycatcher
*
30-Oct
10-Nov
25-Nov
11-Dec
-
Hooded Merganser
**
20-Oct
4-Nov
26-Nov
9-Dec
24-Dec
Ending Departures
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
Green-winged Teal
***
8-Aug
22-Aug
27-Oct
22-Nov
10-Dec
Pied-billed Grebe
***
12-Sep
10-Oct
31-Oct
22-Nov
11-Dec
Red-necked Grebe
*
6-Oct
19-Oct
7-Nov
22-Nov
8-Dec
Snow Bunting
**
12-Oct
23-Oct
9-Nov
22-Nov
1-Dec
American Wigeon
*
9-Sep
5-Oct
1-Nov
23-Nov
19-Dec
Surf Scoter
*
23-Sep
11-Oct
8-Nov
26-Nov
8-Dec
White-winged Scoter
*
1-Oct
19-Oct
10-Nov
26-Nov
8-Dec
American Coot
***
26-Sep
14-Oct
6-Nov
26-Nov
20-Dec
Western Kingbird
*
15-Oct
26-Oct
9-Nov
26-Nov
7-Dec
Fox Sparrow
***
30-Sep
17-Oct
8-Nov
26-Nov
10-Dec
Ring-necked Duck
**
5-Oct
21-Oct
12-Nov
27-Nov
12-Dec
Gulf Coast and Southeast
The last moderate and locally heavy flights of the season occur this period, first with a flight in the southeastern coastal plain on Friday night and then with flights that are more widespread from the southern Appalachians through the Texas coastal Plains for Saturday through Monday. Light to locally moderate flights continue through the remainder of the period locally in the southeastern coastal Plain as the remainder of the region sees largely unfavorable conditions for late season movements.
Scattered moderate flights punctuate the weekend as a disturbance clears out of the region. However, the days that follow see a period of largely unfavorable conditions that will not spawn much late season movement. The arrival of more favorable conditions comes just before Thanksgiving, when light to locally moderate flights, primarily of waterfowl and late season sparrows and allies, will occur.
We don’t have any species to highlight here for this week.
Peaking Arrivals
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
Trumpeter Swan
*
17-Nov
25-Nov
After Dec 31
-
-
Beginning Departures
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
Long-tailed Duck
*
25-Oct
7-Nov
23-Nov
9-Dec
26-Dec
Ross's Goose
*
19-Oct
2-Nov
23-Nov
7-Dec
19-Dec
Ending Departures
Species
Noticeability
Migrants Begin Arriving
Rapid Migrant Influx
Peak
Rapid Migrant Departure
Last Migrants Depart
American Coot
***
11-Sep
3-Oct
29-Oct
21-Nov
10-Dec
Northern Shoveler
***
11-Oct
22-Oct
6-Nov
22-Nov
5-Dec
Double-crested Cormorant
***
8-Sep
25-Sep
22-Oct
24-Nov
17-Dec
Horned Grebe
***
7-Oct
20-Oct
6-Nov
24-Nov
9-Dec
Redhead
***
10-Oct
22-Oct
7-Nov
24-Nov
8-Dec
Whooping Crane
*
13-Oct
24-Oct
8-Nov
24-Nov
6-Dec
Common Loon
**
12-Oct
24-Oct
10-Nov
26-Nov
10-Dec
Canvasback
***
13-Oct
25-Oct
11-Nov
27-Nov
8-Dec
West
The beginning and end of the period will see favorable conditions across the southern half of the region, with more favorable conditions extending to more areas late in the period. These conditions will spawn locally light to moderate flights, primarily waterfowl. Of particular note, birders in the southern Rockies should watch for more intense flights on Friday night; birders in the Pacific Northwest should watch for more intense flights on Tuesday night.