Winds were light and southerly last night over most of the Northeast, which appears to have kept much from moving into the Mid-Atlantic. With so many birds in the local pipe, though, some birds did move over New Jersey during the night. Here’s the radar from sunset last night through 5:00am this morning.

Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.

The regional composite indicates low migration across most of the northeastern US and southern Canada last night, with the highest densities showing up to our south and west. The NY radar indicates no significant flight of birds into NJ or over the Atlantic either. If anything, the Fort Dix radar does show some directional movement which appears to be birds heading south out of northern NJ. The Dover station also indicates low migration from the NNW->SSE. Whether any of this will be apparent on the ground remains to be seen, but given the light local movement I would expect birds to have moved into more optimal foraging areas. The Great Swamp would be a good bet in the north, and Belleplain, or any other location along the northern Delaware Bay shore, should be good for the south.

Looking ahead, tonight should kick off another series of migration events, as this last cold front clears out and the next one approaches. Look for WNW winds tonight, with possible influx of birds from northern PA into New Jersey. As northwest winds build in over western NY on Tuesday, expect to see more birds entering the Garden State from points directly north of us on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Good Birding

David