News: Forecast and Analysis

As some unsettled conditions in parts of the West disrupt and inhibit otherwise light to moderate movements across the region during the coming week, an early week frontal passage through the Eastern US spawns moderate to heavy movements in its wake on Sunday and Monday nights in advance of a strong system arriving by the […]  Read more...

The West continues to see conditions that favor light to moderate migration, whereas continued pulses of heavy movements occur over much of the rest of the East. Birders should watch carefully in the East for conditions that spawn fallouts and heavy nocturnal calling, as several low pressure centers moving east may produce the northerly winds, […]  Read more...

Light to moderate movements continue to be widespread in the West this forecast period, whereas periods of moderate to heavy movements in clear, fall skies are punctuated by periods of widespread rain and southerly flow. West Light to moderate migration is the norm for the region to begin the weekend. Primarily light winds and clear […]  Read more...

The West is mostly tranquil, experiencing light to moderate movements over many areas in mostly light and variables. Two high pressure systems tracking East and South from Canada pass through the Central and Eastern US over the coming week and spawn heavy movements as they approach, whereas the Southeast also experiences some movements, albeit tempered by […]  Read more...

Several nights of heavy movements are likely in the central and eastern US over the coming week, whereas the West will experience primarily moderate movements in light winds and generally dry conditions. This week’s regional forecasts follow: West Widespread light to moderate migration is likely in many areas of the West for the coming week. […]  Read more...

West Light and variable winds will facilitate scattered, light migration in many areas through the weekend, with some coastal areas experiencing slightly larger movements. By Sunday night, more favorable winds spread across coastal areas and into the Great Basin, and moderate movements will become more widespread. The Desert Southwest and Four Corners has rain forecast […]  Read more...

West Birders in coastal areas of the West, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, should watch coastal migrant traps, as light but incrasingly northeasterly winds aloft should bring some migrant songbird concentrations to these areas. The remainder of the region will see primarily scattered light movements in precipitation free areas, as light winds aloft are mostly […]  Read more...

While team eBird is in Alaska, our April eBirder of the month, Benjamin Van Doren, is our guest BirdCaster. Benjamin has a talent for understanding migration, developing an ambitious project to gather morning flight data from dozens birdwatchers in the Northeast that was recognized with a 5th place in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. […]  Read more...

High pressure will dominate much of the country during this forecast period. The West will experience widespread light to moderate migration this week, as high pressure and warmer temperatures build in across most of the region. Moderate to heavy movements will occur in the Great Plains, despite scattered precipitation that may inhibit movements locally. Despite […]  Read more...

Areas of the western US lacking precipitation should experience widespread light to moderate migration early in the forecast period, but an increasing threat of precipitation later in the week may shut down movements in many places. The Great Plains begin the period with largely unfavorable conditions for bird movement, but by midweek southerly flow returns […]  Read more...

Expect the best migration so far this year for at least portions of this week throughout North America. Many areas of the country will see fallout potential this week for passerines and waterbirds. The Desert Southwest and scattered areas of the West should see at least light to moderate movements, and the potential for precipitation […]  Read more...

We expect the pace of record-early spring arrivals from throughout the eastern two-thirds of the country to slow significantly this week. While a few birds may continue to push north, don’t expect the massive movements of birds from the last two weeks as unsettled conditions will likely predominate across much of the continent. Temperatures are […]  Read more...

Expect another week of record early arrivals and large numbers of migrants across much of the continent. Mild conditions will dominate away from the far west where unsettled weather will continue. A large high pressure system will once again become the dominant weather system through almost the entire forecast period with a prolonged period of […]  Read more...