Continental Summary The last movements of the spring, mostly light to moderate, occur across the continent as the season slips into more summer-like patterns. Species on the move this week will include Semipalmated Plover, Dunlin, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, and some of the last of the later songbird migrants like Alder and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Red-eyed […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Persistent light to moderate movements in the West and widespread moderate movements in the center of the continent highlighted the late season movements during this forecast period. Species on the move this week included White-rumped Sandpiper, Dunlin, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Wilson’s Phalarope, Black Tern, Common Nighthawk, Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Gray-cheeked […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Complex patterns of moderate to heavy movements will reflect similarly complex patterns of unfavorable and favorable conditions in all the BirdCast regions for this period as the last of the spring season’s movements take place. Species on the move this week will include Spotted, Least, and White-rumped Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, and Red […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Species on the move included Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Swainson’s Thrush, Tennessee Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Wilson’s Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, and Bobolink. West Species on the move included Bufflehead, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, Common Nighthawk, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Changeable conditions in the West and the East bring pulses and pockets of moderate to very heavy movements this week among numerous disturbances moving east across the country. Species on the move this week will include numerous shorebirds, Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, Alder, Willow, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, numerous warblers such as Northern Waterthrush, […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Scattered moderate movements that began the weekend gave way to much more widespread moderate and even locally heavy movements in the West, while a pulse of moderate to heavy movements kicked off the first half of the week in the East before being muted somewhat by a strong frontal passage. Species on the […]  Read more...

Continental Summary A patchwork of conditions in the West brings mostly scattered light to moderate movements over the forecast period, while a wild week of moderate to heavy movements and the potential for fallouts scattered among precipitation and severe weather comes to the East. Species on the move this week will include Ruddy Turnstone, Stilt […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Moderate movements early in the period in the Desert Southwest and widespread moderate and heavy movements nearly throughout the period in some areas of the East highlighted an active week for migrants. Species on the move this week included Spotted Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Black Tern, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, […]  Read more...

This weekend’s species on the move highlights movements in the West. Several species are right on time in the West, following the last decade’s patterns of reporting. These include Spotted Sandpiper, Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Western Tanager, and Black-headed Grosbeak. Also of note was a suite of major coastal movements in southern California associated with the […]  Read more...

Continental Summary A busy early week of movements in the West shuts down by week’s end, while widespread favorable conditions arrive by mid to late week in the East and spawn moderate to heavy movements in many areas. Species on the move this week will include Swainson’s Thrush, Least Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, American […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Moderate to heavy movement from the Great Plains to the Gulf Coast in the early part of the period gave way to generally light movement across much of the country towards the end of the week. Species on the move included Spotted Sandpiper, Western Tanager, Yellow Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Bobolink, Mississippi […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Widespread light to moderate movements early in the weekend are shut down by two consecutive disturbances in the West, while the arrival of these same disturbances in the East brings a patchwork of moderate to locally heavy movements to the latter portion of the week. Species on the move this week will include […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Widespread light to moderate movements occurred early in the period in the West, while a major pulse of moderate to heavy movements occurred late in the week in the Southeast. Species on the move this week included Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, Chimney Swift, Warbling Vireo, House Wren, a suite of warblers, […]  Read more...

This week we highlight species on the move over the past weekend in the Southeastern US, including a number reported in frequencies substantially in advance of the 2004-2013 average (like Swainson’s and Wood Thrushes, Black-throated Blue and Cape May Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Scarlet Tanagers). Of course, not all species are moving in advance of the average […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Pulses of movements will track the advance of several low pressure systems across the continent this week, with those system producing light to moderate movements in the West and moderate to heavy movements in the East. Species on the move this week will include Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, Great Crested Flycatcher, Warbling and […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Light to moderate movements in the West were most evident in the Desert Southwest and California, while strong low pressure passing through the East brought unseasonably cold and unfavorable conditions and kept most moderate movements sparse in space and time. Species on the move this week included White-faced Ibis, Chimney and Vaux’s Swifts, […]  Read more...

This week’s species on the move discussion highlights some advanced arrivals gleaned from this past weekend’s eBird reports. Northern Parula is being reported with greater frequency than the 10-year average for this date in the Great Plains and Upper Midwest and Northeast. This is particularly true in the Great Plains, where a huge spike in […]  Read more...

As forecast last week, a frontal boundary is approaching the Texas and Louisiana coasts this morning. The map below shows the current conditions in Texas and along the Gulf Coast. Note that barbs and wind flags represent the direction from which winds are blowing, and the blue line with triangles is the boundary between warm and […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Scattered light to moderate movements that begin the weekend give way to much more widespread movements to end the period in the West, while moderate to heavy movements will occur in many areas of the East as low pressure organizes and moves off the coast (and begets more Gulf Coast fall outs). Species […]  Read more...

Continental Summary A nice pulse of moderate movements early to midweek in the West contrasted a pattern of late week moderate to locally heavy movements in the East. Species on the move this week included Hooded Merganser, Horned and Red-necked Grebes, Turkey Vulture, Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks, Ring-billed and California Gulls, Chimney Swift, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, […]  Read more...