Last night the latest cold front swept over the region turning warm and balmy to cool and crisp in a matter of minutes. With the passage we also saw broad-front migration across the region from the Ohio Valley to the Atlantic. N to NW winds dominate the landscape this morning, effectively spreading migrants over the region today. Here’s the radar from 7:30pm last night through 5:00am this morning.
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Looking at the regional composite we can see that as the front pushes eastward, moderate to heavy migration is initiated from northwestern NY State down to Long Island and throughout the mid-Atlantic. Migration activity was apparent as far north as Portland, ME in the early hours of this morning. Looking at the radial velocity loops for the individual radars you can see that migration was primarily oriented along a NNW->SSE axis due to the influence of NW winds. This is both evident on the NYC radar where birds can be seen being blown over the Atlantic instead of orienting toward the NJ coastline, as well as the Fort Dix and Dover radars which show a strong N->S trajectory where the typical “windless” trajectory during fall is heavily skewed to the SW. Birds leaving western NY, though, did not appear to be as influenced by NW winds as the major trajectory there was N->S, putting most of these birds into Pennsylvania and western NJ this morning. This makes the decision of where to go birding this morning much more interesting!
As I commented on Jerseybirds and our Facebook page last night- the best place to go birding this morning is less than certain given the widespread nature of the migration event. In reality any fall hotspot from the Delaware River to the east coast should be holding new birds this morning. Cape May is the obvious choice since the major axis of migration was over the peninsula all night and these are the conditions which produce excellent morning flight at Higbees. Coupled with the promise of hawks today, and the decision becomes much easier IF you can get here. If not, though, there are still many options- and you should probably weigh your decision based on the wind forecast (i.e. can you get out of the wind enough to see the birds in your area!?).
So on that note I’ll leave you to your birding! Please stop back and let us know how it goes. Tomorrow will be another good day, so check the twitter feed tonight for updates, and stop by the Facebook page for more conversation with fellow birders and radar enthusiasts. Also check out the Cape May Bird Observatory’s webpage for updates on what’s being seen, and for the seasonal research synopses.
Good Birding
David
5 responses to “Many birds, many options”
Yes, I do believe a broad front! Less variety and numbers than I had last week at Maria Greenwald Park in Cherry Hill, Camden County, NJ. But good! Different. And 1 BROAD-WINGED HAWK that either flushed or was ready to take to the skies. Here are some numbers of what I presume are all migrants:
6 FLICKERS
20 or so BLUE JAYS
50 or so ROBINS – 1 flock
2 PARULAS
1 CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER
7 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS
1 CAPE MAY WARBLER
1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE
1 PRAIRIE WARBLER
2 BLACK and WHITE WARBLERS
5 REDSTARTS – with one adult male.
1 COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
4 SCARLET TANAGERS
200 or so COMMON GRACKLES – one huge roaming flock.
GOLDFINCHES – not too many.
And 2 BLACK-THROATED GREENS
I birded Rutgers Ecological Preserve in Piscataway this morning. There were clearly birds moving, but the woods were not saturated with them. I saw 7 warbler species and 27 species overall, most of which were represented by a single individual. Two Broad-winged Hawks and two Red-tailed Hawks were kettling at an altitude that suggested they were migrating through.
Went to Sandy Hook this morning. It was a good day. The variety was decent especially of warblers but the density was on the low side. Based on our sightings and what we know was seen by others there were 19 species minimum of warbler including at least 7 Tennessee,
2 YB Chat, 1 Connecticut, many No.Parula, latish Yellow, Yellow-throated warbler (probably the rarest bird on the Hook today). good numbers of Red-Eyed Vireos, 2 White-Eyed Vireos ,2 Veery, 1 Swainson’s Thrush, roving flock of Cedar Waxwings, 1 Broad Winged Hawk, 1 Black Vulture, 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, RTH HUmmingbird
Good songbird migration, but not particularly high numbers at Glenhurst Meadows and Chimney Rock this morning.
Connecticut Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers amongst the highlights – maybe 15 sp. of Warblers all told.
First of the season BH Vireo and Winter Wren (and Red-shouldered later in the day at the platform)
Strong Hawk flight with around 3000 Broad-wings, and a good mix of all expected migrating raptors.