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...

As a reminder to what the team is working on here at BirdCast, we return to a previous post we wrote. With spring soon arriving and preparations for migration underway, here is a primer on what we do. We turn weather radar data into information on the numbers and flight directions of birds aloft in order to expand the understanding of migratory bird movement. After several years (and hundreds of posts) describing migration, species on the move, and unique migration events, we want you to have a better understanding of what happens at BirdCast. Here is a brief overview and a behind-the-scenes look at the ways we apply radar data to study bird migration. Read more...

BirdCast will monitor ‘live’ the behavior of birds and insects during the total eclipse today. BirdCast’s ‘live migration maps’ will be enabled all day, and we have tuned the sensitivity to display the day-time activity of birds and insects combined. The eclipse display, the thumbnail you see to the right, will be active from 1pm to 5pm today. Read more...

The BirdCast team will be reposting two accounts originally written about the August 2017 eclipse. This is the first of these posts, detailing reports of animal behaviors, which we hope will get you excited about observing animal behaviors on 8 April 2024! Read more...

The BirdCast team is reposting two accounts originally written about the August 2017 eclipse. This is the second of these posts, detailing results from our 2018 publication using radar to study biological activity in the air during the eclipse ... with radar! Read more...

Migration intensity goes off the charts - the BILLION bird barrier is shattered! Read more...

The past week saw another movement above the half a billion mark, with continued high intensity flights predicted for 16-17 October. Let's get those lights out, especially in the areas with red alerts. 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 remnants of Philippe, a long lived hurricane, tropical storm and depression, and post tropical cyclone, are coming ashore in northern New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Read more...

Large numbers of birds died in collisions with glass and structures while major migration was occurring in the Chicago area on the night of 4-5 October 2023. Turn off your lights, make your windows bird friendly! 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...

Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall this morning in North Carolina, and, with safety first we are tracking observations of storm-driven birds reported in the wake of its passage. Read more...

Hurricane Lee is making its way toward Nova Scotia, with landfall predicted on Saturday midday. With safety first above all, the BirdCast team highlights an observation map and some additional predictions about species that might be entrained and displaced by this storm. Read more...

For those watching the arrival of Hurricane Lee, the BirdCast team though it might be useful to see a map of some of the species presently in the region predicted to experience impacts from Lee in the very near future. Read more...

An incredible far-flung array of American Flamingo observations highlight the late summer birding scene in eastern North America this week, perhaps with particular relevance to the recent passage of Hurricane Idalia. Read more...

Idalia made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, packing very strong winds, heavy rains, and flooding and storm surges. The storm also brought a host of Gulf of Mexico seabirds into the southeastern US. 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 BirdCast team is pleased to welcome you back to our suite of migration tools for the Spring 2023 season as of today! Stay tuned and visit our migration tools page to explore the season's unfolding movements! Read more...