Caspian Tern. Arlene Ripley/Macaulay Library.
10 Mar 2016. eBird S28149243, ML 25671671

Continental Summary

Light to moderate migration reach its greatest extents in the West as favorable conditions arrive primarily from Sunday through Wednesday, while the East will experience two waves of moderate and locally heavy flights late in the weekend and in the middle of the work week.

Curious what birds were on the move? Check out our analysis.

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 red will experience conditions that are favorable for migration, and areas where red and green (and red and blue) intersect and overlap may experience migrant concentrations and fallouts as migrants interact with precipitation.

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Need a review of our definitions for regions, species on the move, and migration amounts? Please visit this link.

Quick Links to Regions

Upper Midwest and Northeast	Gulf Coast and Southeast
Great Plains	West

Upper Midwest and Northeast

Friday’s passing front, and cool air that follows, heralds a brief pause to the building inputs of migrants into the region. By Saturday night, warmer and southerly flow returns to spawn moderate flights. Sunday night sees these flights continue mostly east of the Appalachians as the next frontal boundary arrives. The cool air following this frontal passage will stay in place a bit longer, but by Tuesday night moderate and locally heavy flights return mostly west of the Appalachians. These flights spread east for Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Note, precipitation forecast for Wednesday night in portions of the Mississippi River Valley and Upper Midwest and for some coastal areas of New England on Thursday night may concentrate migrants; birders should watch the passage of this system carefully, and check appropriate patches of habitat, including inland bodies of water, on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Yellow-throated Warbler. Perry Doggrell/Macaulay Library. 13 Mar 2016. eBird S28152130, ML 25679341

Species on the Move

Beginning Arrivals What is this?

Gulf Coast and Southeast

Moderate to heavy flights will occur across the region for much of the weekend, including the potential for concentrations and fallouts with these movements in the central and eastern portions of the Gulf Coast where precipitation is forecast. As the disturbance producing this precipitation passes, migration shuts down. But this will be a short hiatus, as more favorable conditions return by Tuesday; and with these conditions, so, too, will return more moderate and heavy flights. Beginning Wednesday and continuing through the remainder of the forecast period, moderate to heavy flights will continue in many areas. However, these flights will become increasingly localized to the eastern portions of the region by Thursday and Friday. Furthermore, another passing cold front and precipitation associated with it will create a new round of fallout and concentration potential for trans-Gulf migrants to end the week, especially from the Upper Texas Coast through the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday and Thursday.

Least Tern. Jeff Sexton/Macaulay Library. 19 Mar 2016. eBird S28436080, ML 25908831

Beginning Arrivals What is this?

Great Plains

A brief weekend pulse of light to moderate flights will be followed by much more widespread moderate and locally heavy flights on Monday and Tuesday. Highly favorable conditions coincide with these flights from Sunday through Tuesday night. However, Wednesday will see the passage of a frontal boundary, ushering in a wave of cooler air and northerly flow that will shut down most movements through the end of the period.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Kris Petersen/Macaulay Library. 22 Mar 2016. eBird S28487748, ML 26117991

Species on the Move

Beginning Arrivals What is this?

West

Most of the region will experience favorable conditions for light to moderate flights by Saturday and Sunday nights. By Monday and Tuesday these conditions will be mostly localized south and east of the Rockies, as will the similarly intense movements. By Tuesday and Wednesday most of the movements in the region will be restricted to the Desert Southwest, where locally moderate flights will continue through the end of the week. In addition, some areas of the Northwest will begin to experience more favorable flying conditions by the end of the week, as well, where locally moderate flights will occur from Washington east through the northern Rockies and into Montana.

Black-throated Gray Warbler. Sue Barth/Macaulay Library. 18 Mar 2016. eBird S28410885, ML 25943771

Species on the Move

Beginning Arrivals What is this?

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Farnsworth and Van Doren