News: Forecast and Analysis

Spring migration is in full swing, and knowing when peak migration will occur in your area is valuable information! Here we provide a sortable table of peak periods of spring bird migration for the largest cities by human population size in the contiguous US.  Read more...

In recent days we've hit the highest highs and lowest lows of this migration season. Here, we speak briefly about the last week's events and highlight the upcoming movements and action alerts for the next three days.  Read more...

The BirdCast team has a growing number of friends and family members, and for today's post, we introduce Diya Balagopal, a high school sophomore from Frisco, Texas. During the month of October, we will highlight Lights Out alert forecasts to support bird conservation by reducing nighttime lighting during migration season. The small act of turning off lights can make a big difference for protecting nocturnally migrating birds!  Read more...

Hilary's literal windfall (and precipitation!) of vagrant hurricane-driven birds is still growing, but so is the number of regularly occurring species in the region that are occurring in unusual numbers or in unusual locations associated with the passage of this system.  Read more...

Hurricane Hilary may bring a significant diversity of entrained and displaced birds to California and Nevada, with impacts as far reaching as Oregon and Idaho.  Read more...

BirdCast is ready to kickoff its fall 2023 migration season! It’s time to check out our migration tools to see what’s on the move in your area.  Read more...

The new BirdCast Migration Dashboard is here, providing nocturnal bird migration data for counties and states in the contiguous US! This tool offers new capabilities to investigate birds' movements in detail and at scales that complement our existing national forecast and live migration maps. Try it out today to explore patterns of nocturnal bird migration in your area!  Read more...

The BirdCast forecast model predicts just over half a billion birds to be flying during peak flight hours tonight! Turn out your lights! Go birding!  Read more...

An evolving frontal boundary will make for some interesting conditions along the Atlantic Seaboard to transport birds farther afield than they might typically travel in the coming 72 hours.  Read more...

Continuing frontal boundaries and associated unstable weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico are going to make for some interesting migration patterns in the coming week.  Read more...

The BirdCast team has unveiled a new feature on our maps! Forecast and live migration maps now indicate the total number of birds in flight above the contiguous United States.  Read more...

On Saturday 10 April, a frontal boundary is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico region. Beginning midday Saturday, birds may begin concentrating in coastal habitats, particularly in the Upper Texas and southwestern Louisiana coasts; but events may be quite complex, because forecasts suggest that the front will stall.  Read more...

Winter Storm Xylia is forecast to bring a blast of late winter to the Central Rockies and northern Great Plains this weekend and early next week. Birds will certainly respond to this storm, especially those of more open terrestrial habitats, by seeking more favorable locations free of snow if possible.  Read more...

Above average temperatures are coming to the eastern half of the US next week, and with these warming temperatures will come early season movements of birds. But for the western US, no such luck arrives. Keep a close eye on forecasts, ours included, to see what happens!  Read more...

As the calendar page turns to March, the BirdCast team opens the spring 2021 migration forecasting season with the return of forecast and live migration maps! Birds are already on the move and have been for many weeks, but number have been increasing, particularly in the southeastern US last night. Read on to check on what species might be on the move in your part of the country.  Read more...

Easterly flow in the North Atlantic has the potential to bring European species into northeastern North America in the coming days. Marginal to favorable conditions for such displacement are predicted for the coming days, so birders should watch their favorite patches closely.  Read more...

More than half a billion birds will take flight tonight across the contiguous US tonight! The BirdCast model is predicting intense migration in many areas of the central and southeastern US in the wake of a passing cold front.  Read more...

The BirdCast model is predicting high intensity migration this evening, with more than half a billion birds on the move! And there will be additional, similarly large flights, in the coming nights! This will likely represent one of the largest series of migration nights of the year in the contiguous US.  Read more...

Strong northeasterly winds in the western North Atlantic may hearken the arrival of small (very small) numbers of Northern Wheatears in eastern North America. Several have been reported in the last days, will more arrive soon?  Read more...

The BirdCast model is predicting high intensity migration for the night of 14 September 2020. We estimate that 405 million birds will take flight tonight across the lower 48, including 50 million birds in the northeast alone. This will likely represent one of the largest migration nights of the year in this region.  Read more...