Continental Summary: Major movements begin the period in the East and West, followed by periods of less favorable conditions until another pulse of movements end the forecast period. Birds on the move this week will include Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows. West Light to moderate movements […]  Read more...

A strong cold front has moved off the Atlantic coast after a week of more summer-like conditions. Friday night will see temperatures drop in many areas, with winds from the North and Northwest, perfect for moderate to heavy movements in many areas (and some locally very heavy movements). These large movements of birds will be […]  Read more...

Continental Summary: Moderate movements took hold in many areas of the West, while a strong front produced excellent end of the period flights in the East after a pervasive summer-like air mass departed. Birds on the move included Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson’s Thrush, Palm Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Lincoln’s and White-crowned Sparrows. West Light […]  Read more...

With forecast conditions looking rather gloomy for observers watching at the Tribute in Light but rosy for avoiding any potential for hazardous conditions for migrating birds, Team BirdCast predicted local, light movements and perhaps tens of birds in the beams of light during the memorial during the night of 11-12 September 2013. The first migrating […]  Read more...

Last night’s flight is the Northeastern US was as underwhelming as previously forecast, and the hopes for slightly more favorable though still marginal conditions for birds to move during the night bore no fruit. Widely scattered light movements occurred in most areas of the Northeast, though many of these were probably dominated or masked by […]  Read more...

Despite a reasonably quiet season for tropical systems in the western North Atlantic, a lingering area of low pressure and associated storms that was once Tropical Storm Gabrielle has reorganized and started to move to the North and Northeast. The most current update from the National Hurricane Center suggests a western Newfoundland landfall for the […]  Read more...

For those in the greater New York City metropolitan area, the coming nights bring the return of the Tribute in Light Memorial. The powerful, side-by-side beams of light aimed skyward are first and foremost a somber tribute to the lives lost on September 11th 2001; but they also provide a rare opportunity to see nocturnal […]  Read more...

Continental Summary: A divided West sees light to moderate movements, as a complex East sees several primarily northern pulses of moderate to heavy movements. Birds on the move this week will include Sharp-shinned Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson’s Thrush, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and White-throated and Lincoln’s Sparrows. West The weekend sees […]  Read more...

Continental Summary: Movements across the West continued at light to moderate intensities characteristic of the last weeks, perhaps now past peak levels in portions of the Interior West, while the East experienced several pulses of moderate to heavy movements with the passage of two frontal boundaries, harbingers of things to come. Birds on the move […]  Read more...

From time to time Team BirdCast likes to wander a bit farther afield than usual, and this post is no exception. Several of our colleagues finds themselves on St. Paul and St. Lawrence, Alaskan islands in the middle of the Bering Sea. Fall can be an exciting time in such locations, with the potential of […]  Read more...

Continental Summary: The West continues to experience light to moderate movements, as the East gets a pulse of moderate to heavy movements with the passage of high pressure through the region. Birds on the move this week will include Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Swainson’s Thrush, numerous warblers and Baltimore Oriole. West Scattered precipitation across the […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Light to moderate movements were widespread across the country this past week, with each of the BirdCast regions experiencing some nice pulses of birds. Of particular note was the higher than anticipated magnitude and intensity of movements early in the period in the Southeast. Birds on the move this week included Green-winged and […]  Read more...

Continental Summary: Scattered precipitation in many areas mutes otherwise light to locally moderate movements in the West, as much of the East, particularly the Northeast, sees an early weekend movement before waiting for its first big migration pulse at the end of the forecast period. Birds on the move this week will include Green-winged Teal, […]  Read more...

A recent article, entitled “Crowdsourcing, for the birds,” appeared on the front page of the Science Times in the 20 August 2013 New York Times. In addition to a Birdcast reference in the print article (and a link in the digital edition), the multimedia portion for the online version, entitled “21st century Birding,” features a […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Light to moderate movements across the West were apparent on most nights of the period, as the East experienced a major pulse of moderate migration at the end of the week. Birds on the move this week included Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and-white and Wilson’s Warblers, American Redstart, and […]  Read more...

Continental Summary The West will experience light to moderate movements early and late in the forecast period, and locally midweek where scattered precipitation is not falling, as the East experiences a mostly marginal and unfavorable weather week that will allow mostly light and locally moderate movements interspersed among increasingly prevalent showers and precipitation as the […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Light to moderate movements were the norm for the West and the East this week, as fall migration gradually becomes more apparent with each week. Birds on the move this week included Great Egret, Baird’s, White-rumped, Solitary, and Pectoral Sandpipers, Barn Swallow, Purple Martin, Yellow and Wilson’s Warblers. West Light to locally moderate […]  Read more...

Continental Summary Scattered light and locally moderate movements will occur across the West, while two primarily northeastern pulses of light to moderate and locally heavy movements occur among storm systems in the East. West To begin the weekend, scattered precipitation will keep most birds on the ground from northern California East through the Great Basin […]  Read more...

Continental Summary The West experienced primarily light movements, particularly toward the Pacific Coast and over the Desert Southwest, while the East experience light to moderate movements, primarily along a corridor from the northern Great Plains South and East toward the Gulf Coast. Please note, we have posted two animated maps in this analysis because the […]  Read more...

Continental Summary The West sees light movements away from scattered precipitation over the next week, particularly along the Pacific Coast, as light to locally moderate movements associated with the passage of high pressure in the East occur primarily the northern Great Plains and portions of the Northeast. Birders should pay  attention to precipitation as it […]  Read more...