News: Forecast and Analysis

As the spring migration winds down for most species, this forecast period sees early week light to moderate movements in the West that feature Common Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Warbling Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, and Gray Catbird and mostly moderate flights in the East that feature late season shorebirds, Least Tern, Yell0w-billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, and Cedar Waxwing among other late season passerine migrants.  Read more...

This period brought light to moderate flights that featured Western Sandpiper, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Swainson's Thrush, and Cedar Waxwing to the West, primarily in the middle of the week and scattered from California to the Rockies and north to Canada, while the East enjoyed moderate to locally heavy early and later week flights that featured Black Skimmer, Common Nighthawk, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Swainson's Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, and Dickcissel.  Read more...

With peaks of spring movements in the rear view for most species, this week will see scattered light flights across much of the West, with moderate flights along the eastern front of the Rockies, that will feature Black Tern, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, MacGillivray's Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak, and moderate to heavy midweek flights where and when precipitation does not fall in the East, featuring Black-bellied Plover, Black Tern, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Mourning Warbler.  Read more...

A reasonable quiet late migration season week in the West featured movements of Black Tern, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Waterthrush, American Redstart, particularly in the Desert Southwest and northern Rockies, while moderate to heavy flights in the East early in the week, featuring White-rumped Sandpiper, Sanderling, Black Skimmer, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Marsh Wren, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Orchard Oriole, subsided as a more early spring like air mass arrived.  Read more...

Scattered precipitation across the region this period will add a new dynamic to West, with light to moderate movements featuring Common Nighthawk, Western Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Western Tanager, and Lazuli Bunting where precipitation is not falling mostly early in the week in the Southwest and central and southern Rockies, while an early period blast of moderate to heavy movements featuring White-rumped Sandpiper, Common Nighthawk, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, and Blackpoll Warbler gets swept aside with the passage of a strong frontal boundary in the middle of the week.  Read more...

Several widespread pulses of moderate to heavy flights featuring White-rumped Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Alder Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, and Mourning Warbler punctuated the week across the East, while mid week moderate to locally heavy flights along the eastern Rockies were highlights of the period's assemblage of Black Tern, Least Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, MacGillivray's Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak in the West.  Read more...

Continental Summary 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 Top Movers Gulf Coast and Southeast Top Movers Great Plains Top Movers West Top Movers ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Farnsworth and Van Doren  Read more...

Favorable conditions for light to moderate flights begin and ends the period for the West as Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willow Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Townsend's Warbler, Virginia Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak are on the move, while the moderate to heavy flights that will include White-rumped Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Least Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Blackpoll Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Savannah Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow navigate around some serious weather in the first half of the period and quiet markedly with that weather's departure to end the period.  Read more...

Widespread favorable conditions that bring light to moderate flights including Solitary Sandpiper, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Black-headed Grosbeak to the West early in the week become increasingly restricted to the Desert Southwest by the end of the week, while the arriving major pulse of southerly flow and warmer air toward the end of the weekend in the East brings moderate to heavy, and locally very heavy, flights for the rest of the period that will include Broad-winged Hawk, Least Sandpiper, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Veery, Wood Thrush, Wilson's Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  Read more...

Moderate movements, particularly in the latter half of the period from California and the Desert Southwest, included Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Tanager, and Black-headed Grosbeak in the West, while the migration machine kicked into a higher gear with moderate to heavy flights in the East that included Least Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Veery, Mourning Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Dickcissel, Orchard Oriole, and Baltimore Oriole.  Read more...

An odd week in the East will feature good conditions for trans-Gulf flights (and fallouts), some early period moderate to locally heavy flights in the Plains, and a more quiet than usual Northeast with numerous species on the move including Green Heron, Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Caspian Tern, Blue-headed Vireo, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, and Summer Tanager, while the West sees a quiet heart of the period bookended by light to moderate flights that will included Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers, Black Tern, Plumbeous Vireo, Wilson's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, and Lark Bunting.  Read more...

This week featured moderate to heavy flights across the southern US, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and the central US, from Texas to the Canadian border, and these flights included Western Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Bonaparte's Gull, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Lazuli Bunting, Western Tanager, and Summer Tanager.  Read more...

From Monday to Thursday many areas of the West see light to moderate migration featuring Dunlin, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Green-tailed Towhee, while several disturbances passing through the East spawn fallouts along the Gulf Coast and moderate to heavy movements of numerous shorebirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and-white Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Palm Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and White-throated Sparrow in advance of frontal passages.  Read more...

Migrants were active in the region this week in the West, with several pulses of light to moderate movements featuring Semipalmated Plover, Western Sandpiper, Varied Thrush, Nashville Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, and Western Tanager, while many areas of the East experienced moderate and locally heavy movements at times, particularly on Sunday and Monday nights in advance of a cold front, that featured American Bittern, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, Yellow Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Baltimore Oriole.  Read more...

Pulses of light to moderate movements will follow the favorable conditions across the West, particularly early in the week, and will feature Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Bonaparte's Gull, Caspian Tern, Vaux's Swift, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Yellow-headed Blackbird, while the East sees moderate to heavy flights that track those favorable conditions early to mid week and that feature a large number of arrivals including Green Heron, Willet, Wilson's Snipe, Red-eyed Vireo, Cliff Swallow, Yellow-throated Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and Swamp Sparrow among many others.  Read more...

An active beginning and end to the forecast period in the West featured light to moderate movements primarily in the southern portion of the region and included Western Sandpiper, Franklin's Gull, Cassin's Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Nashville Warbler, while increasingly widespread moderate movements punctuated the period in the East and included Franklin's Gull, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, and Summer Tanager.  Read more...

Light to moderate movements featuring Green Heron, Osprey, Rufous Hummingbird, White-throated Swift, and Common Yellowthroat will be the norm from Friday through the middle of the coming work week in the West, as moderate to heavy flights come to many parts of the East and feature Ruddy Duck, Whimbrel, Northern Flicker, Tree Swallow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Indigo Bunting.  Read more...

Light to moderate movements, primarily in California and the Desert Southwest, in the first half of the week included Swainson's Hawk, Franklin's Gull, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Nashville Warbler, Common Grackle for the West, while scattered pulses of light to moderate movements reached a peak by the end of the week in the East and included Great Crested Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Chipping Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, and Orchard Oriole.  Read more...

Friday and Monday nights will be the most extensive of the light to moderate movements that occur in the West this week featuring Cassin's Vireo, Tree Swallow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Gray Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, while several pulses of more extensive light to moderate movements grace the East from Saturday through Wednesday featuring Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Pectoral Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-throated Vireo, Hooded Warbler, and Fox Sparrow.  Read more...

While the West saw early and late forecast period light to moderate movements along the Pacific Coast and in the Desert Southwest including Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Bullock’s Oriole, scattered light to moderate movements peaking on Tuesday and Wednesday nights including Greater White-fronted Goose, Blue-winged Teal, Barn Swallow, Brown Thrasher, Lapland Longspur, Vesper Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow increased in the East.  Read more...