The birds, that is. Winds started out light and westerly and quickly moved southerly, although still light. Birds took advantage of the conditions resulting in heavy migration into the northern part of the state via New York. Here’s the radar from sunset last night through 5:30am this morning.
Frames are every 1/2 hour for reflectivity and velocity, and every hour for the regional composite. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
The Fort Dix radar is easier to interpret, as directionality is less of a question based on the velocity image (the key for discerning birds vs. other biological data). Birds can be seen moving N–>S, even though there is a whole lot of noise coming from the opposing winds and whatever was being blown around in the atmosphere (dust, pollen, etc.). The dover radar is somewhat less straightforward as the direction of movement is totally obscured by the wind direction and therefore I’ll take a “leap of faith” when I say that birds were indeed making up most of this signal. The composite is probably the most telling, with a large front of birds moving south across the entire northeast. Winds over New York were more favorable, and migration across these radars (not pictured) did show a strong NW–>SE trajectory. Expect good birding conditions across the region today, with very good conditions possible at Sandy Hook and the northern half of the state. Predictability of the southern half is shakier (see above), but I think it’s got a good shot. Any and all reports are encouraged so come on by after your day in the field!
Come check out my migration forecast for the Mid-Atlantic on Birdcapemay.org
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Good Birding
David
5 responses to ““Against the wind…”
A huge push of sparrows and late warblers into Central Jersey was very evident at my place this morning.
I only had 45 minutes to walk the dog and bird- but right behind the house was a virtual constant flow of birds through the fields:
White-throated Sparrow – 100’s
White-crowned Sparrow – Dozens *
Swamp Sparrow – Dozens
Song Sparrow – Dozens, possibly over 100
Savannah Sparrow – 5 *
* I never checked the usual “best” fields
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 30
Palm Warbler (all Yellow-type) – 20
Nashville Warbler – 2
Common Yellowthroat – 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Dozens
(no GoCrKi’s…but probably just missed them)
Interestingly, no Dark-eyed Juncos yet…had one at Rutgers yesterday, and one at Garret Mountain a few weeks ago, but none here. I just put seed out for the first time this year, so we’ll see if they show up.
Good Birding
David
some more Central NJ ground proofing. After all, we’re only a dozen or so miles from HMF as the sparrow flies..
a definite new influx of birds onto the Duke property this morning. Junco numbers have gone from sparse to frequent. In the grasslands, noticeably more white crowneds and swamps piled in. Two Vespers and a Lincolns were also found. Palms seem to have moved out, though a few dozen were still winging around.
These next few days should be interesting.
-Brian
A definite influx of birds at the Celery Farm this morning w/ good #’s everywhere you looked. First FOX SPARROW of the season–possibly my earliet ever in the fall, Big #’s of Swamps, 5+ White-crowned incl. 2 adult (yesterday I had a “Gambellii” subspecies), 4+ Savannah incl 1 very yellow-faced individual, 20+ Purple Finch incl. several adult males, 10+ Palms, 30+ Yellow-rumps, several RC Kinglet, Heard GC Kinglet and Junco, flyover Snipe, several flyover Pipits; Wigeon, Coot, and PB Grebe. Yesterday evening had a BLUE-HEADED VIREO–only my 2nd this fall.
Cool sightings! I’ve been waiting for someone to report a Gambelii…with all of the White-crowns around I knew it was just a matter of time.
Brian- crazy how I had no Juncos (probably some around, but not obvious during my 45 minute walk) and many palms…and we ARE so close!
Thanks to both of you for your regular contributions- they’re an excellent asset to the site.
Dave-
I would imagine you have much better Palm habitat than we do. we don’t have a whole lot of edge. I’d be willing to bet that birds who ‘fall-out’ here end up moving towards HMF/Negri-Nepote/etc. The same way that this property really seems to be a savannah magnet.
Juncoes, on the other hand, who knows. I think we do heavily benefit from fallouts off the Watchung flyway if conditions are right. This property has a ‘size advantage’ over pretty much all other greenways in the area, and it really seems to pull migrants in if theres some fog or pre-dawn rain.