NYC Area Forecast Update – 4 September

Southerly and southwesterly winds and rain will keep most birds grounded through Wednesday. However, a wind shift to the Northwest and clearing skies on Wednesday evening should open floodgates for migration – expect moderate to heavy movements across the area. If this wind shift occurs before sunset, Wednesday night would be an excellent opportunity to see nocturnal migration in action from the Empire State Building. Additionally, early morning Thursday would be a good time to bird city parks for the new influx of migrants that will arrive in the early morning hours. Watch for continuing high diversity of warblers and other Neotropical migrant songbirds. Also watch for diurnal migration on Thursday morning – although winds will not be strong enough to push large numbers of raptors to the immediate coast, movements should still be apparent, particularly on the west side of Manhattan over the Palisades where building numbers of Broad-winged Hawks and Ospreys should be moving Southwest from the Bronx and Westchester into New Jersey. Coastal interests will see a turnover in shorebirds, as the numbers that have been present of late will likely diminish with birds departing on Wednesday night.