News

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...

Southerly winds will make for pleasant but perhaps uneventful birding through Saturday, but rain arrives by Saturday night. No new major movements of birds will occur in the area until Sunday night. Migrants that arrived in the heavy movement of Wednesday night and Thursday morning will stay mostly where they are until the next frontal […]  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...

Winds shifted to the Northwest earlier today (Wednesday 19 September), bringing clearing skies, cooler temperatures, and anticipation of an excellent opportunity for seeing migrants in the greater New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas! Broad-winged Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, and even the occasional Bald Eagle are already passing through our area, and hawk movements will […]  Read more...

Continued warm, southerly winds do not bring many new birds to the region on Friday and Saturday. However, a passing cold front brings a wind shift on Saturday, and as northwesterly winds blow through the night and into early Monday morning, migrants will respond. Heavy migration will occur Saturday night, with some continued flight of […]  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...

Migration was generally light across much of the great New York City metropolitan area on the night of 11-12 September. High pressure off the Atlantic coast brought warmer evening conditions than either of the previous two nights, as well as calm and even light southerly winds; after such favorable conditions during previous nights, migration was […]  Read more...

Heavy nocturnal migration on the night of 10 September will produce another nice day for birding in the greater New York City metropolitan area. Following Monday’s hawk flight in Manhattan, featuring hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks, Tuesday will see a continuation of the small streams of Broad-winged Hawks, Ospreys, American Kestrels, and Sharp-shinned Hawks passing over […]  Read more...

As part of the coverage of BirdCast that resulted from the journalist only event in Manhattan, a number of media outlets wrote, spoke, or covered stories on the project. Cornell Daily Sun provided this coverage. Cornell Chronicle wrote this piece. University of Delaware Review wrote this piece. Wynne Parry at LiveScience has this to say […]  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...

Southwesterly winds, warm temperatures, and scattered rain will keep most birds on the ground for the end of the week through Sunday. However, a substantial change in weather is forecast late on Sunday, and there is a good chance that a passing cold front, followed by cooler temperatures and northwesterly winds, will facilitate a large […]  Read more...

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 […]  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...

WHAT: “Forecasting Seasonal Bird Migration” – with Andrew Farnsworth of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Farnsworth is based in New York City. WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. WHERE: Cornell’s ILR Conference Center, 16 East 34th Street, 6th floor, Midtown Manhattan MEDIA: You are invited to attend this journalists-only luncheon with […]  Read more...

This forecast period (view last week’s forecast) saw what were likely the last major movements of this spring’s migration, though some birds will continue migrating through the 1st and 2nd weeks of June. The West experienced several nights of light to moderate movements, particularly along the Pacific coast. Storms and a frontal passage in the […]  Read more...

Most of the last big pushes of spring migration will occur this week. Light to moderate movements will occur in many precipitation-free areas of the West. The Great Plains will experience moderate to heavy movements in many areas early in the period, but a substantial low pressure system will shut down migrants with rain later […]  Read more...

Migration across much of the West was largely light in marginal winds aloft and scattered precipitation, although some coastal and desert areas experienced locally heavier movements. Despite a significant frontal passage that shut down movements in its wake, many areas of the Great Plains saw moderate to heavy movements. Similarly, the Upper Midwest and Northeast […]  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...

Diversity and abundance of migrants remained high across much of the US during this forecast period. (See last week’s forecast.) Presumably, this period and the next will be the last to have such diversity and abundance during this spring season, as many migrants have arrived or will soon arrive at their breeding destinations. Moderate to […]  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...