woodcreeper

10th Sep, 2004

NE Migration in Full Swing

Get some sleep! You’re going to need it in order to make it to Cape May by morning! Lots of birds moving tonight, as expected. Light winds from the North, coupled with clear skies, are opening the eastern flyway to widespread nocturnal migration. Below I’ve posted a snapshot of migration one hour after sunset. The local animations feature one base reflectivity image, followed by the complimentary velocity image. Notice how in ALL cases, the velocity of objects moving through the radar far exceeds the local wind speed (posted in parentheses). This is a good indicator that what you are seeing in the base reflectivity is indeed bird migration. I won’t be able to post an early report, so I recommend hitting your favorite fall migration location first thing in the AM. If you’re headed to Higbees, I’ll see you on the dike!

cheers

David

Caribou, ME (N 7mph)

Portland, ME (NW 8mph)

Fort Drum, NY (variable 5mph)

Albany, NY (NW 5mph)

Northeast US Composite

Posted by: David La Puma

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Responses

Well sorry to burst your bubble Dave but the aforementioned big flight did not land in New Jersey, at least not at Sandy Hook.When we arrived at 7:30AM the winds were from the NE. It was dead as a doorknob! There is always hope for another day but probably not tomorrow.

By: Wendy and Stuart Malmid on September 11th, 2004
at 12:21 pm

I just got back from Cape May, and I can tell you that the sentiments were similar to Wendy and Stuart’s…well, not exactly a “doorknob”, but definitely less than would have been expected. Winds were out of the East first thing in the morning, which has a history of shifting the morning flight away from Higbee’s. There were some highlights (Red-headed Woodpecker, 5 Hudsonian Godwits, Lark Sparrow, many Kestrels and Merlins, and a single Great Cormorant) but passerines were clearly elsewhere.

cheers

David

By: David on September 11th, 2004
at 10:57 pm