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

The winds over New Jersey ranged from north to south, and east to west, throughout the night, with the only consistency being relatively low wind speeds. Therefore we did see some migration last night, even on the unstable wind conditions and precipitation that moved through overnight. Given the predominance of southeasterly winds over southern New Jersey, most birds over the Dover radar appeared to be heading inland, up the Delaware River, instead of across to the north bay shore. Over central and northern New Jersey, though, most movement started out on a S->N trajectory, and then turned the more typical SW->NE throughout the night. Birds could be seen heading over Sandy Hook on the early morning radar, but given the ESE wind readings on the Sandy Hook buoy as of 6:30am, I’d say that the probability is low for high densities of birds on this well-established migrant trap. Inland sites such as Garret Mountain and locations along the Delaware River may be the best bets for seeing some new birds today.

Over the next two nights we will see south winds across the region, as a cold front pushes east and then stalls over our area. We’re getting pretty late in the season now, so I’m not expecting anything major, but it will be interesting to see how May wraps up migration-wise. On that note, I’ll be signing off with my regular (almost) daily posts as of tomorrow morning, but will be posting throughout the summer on interesting topics, and hopefully with a summary of this seasons migration events. It has been another fun season, this time with the added benefit of living in Cape May… now I really can’t wait for fall!

Good Birding

David

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

Not much to say, except that while I expect a few more nights of moderate migration over the next week, things have definitely wound down for the season.

Last night we saw a little push of birds into the region, and an even smaller amount heading out. I think the main variable here was more northerly winds up north, and more variable winds down south. Expect birds to have thinned out a bit across most of the state, dispersing from migrant traps to better stopover habitat, and in general becoming less visible (ie not concentrated in any particular place). The Cape May peninsula showed a higher degree of activity last night that I had expected (with no strong westerly winds), so it will be interesting to see what turns up down here throughout the day. It’s possible that a good portion of this activity was shorebirds, especially since you can see a morning exodus of birds heading back south in the last frame, presumably roosting shorebirds or gulls heading over the Delaware to feed.

Good Birding

David

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

So the northern half of New Jersey experienced the bulk of the migration last night, with birds traveling in a typical SW->NE direction over Sandy Hook and into Manhattan and Long Island, NY. Sandy Hook and Garret Mountain, therefore, should be the best bets for new arrivals this morning.

Further south, though, migration was on a more S->N trajectory, although not as prominent as it had been in previous nights, when east winds had been stronger. Some birds can actually be seen crossing between Lewes, DE and the Cape May peninsula last night, unlike the night before. Still, the bulk of migration in the south entered New Jersey well north on the Delaware Bay shore such that any appreciable migration activity will be most likely in those locales.

Good Birding

David

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

As you can see, the heaviest migration occurred over the greater New York state (regional composite) with little movement along the east coast, including Manhattan and Long Island. For New Jersey, a moderate push could be seen leaving the northern half of the state, while the south was relatively quiet. A nice pulse of birds were also evident heading north out of the Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva Peninsula, but all of this movement appeared to be heading due north, and bypassing NJ altogether.

Expect little in terms of migration density across the region… with Garret Mountain still holding more migrants relative to other locations.

Good Birding

David

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

Winds were light and southeasterly last night, triggering another night of migration across many parts of the country, especially at central and northern latitudes. On the east coast, migration was heavy from the Mid-Atlantic through the Northeast, with highest densities occurring inland from the coast. This appears due to the southeasterly flow of the winds, which (for once this spring) did not push birds toward the coast. Expect the highest densities at inland migration hotspots today, such as along the Delaware River, and along interior ridges such as Garret Mountain. East winds should preclude many nocturnal migrants from “sticking” to coastal hotspots such as Sandy Hook, but may bring the possible pelagic gem (such as Sooty Shearwater or Arctic Tern) closer to shore… so if you’re in Cape May for Spring Weekend, or out at Montauk for some sun, be sure to scan the sea for anything out of the ordinary! And of course, come on back and let us know what you see.

Last night I was alerted to some visible migration via the Night Flight Call listserve (are you a member of the list? well, if you’re interested in nocturnal flight calls, you might want to consider it). From a local patch on the south side of Boston, Marshall Iliff reported seeing an inland flight of White-winged Scoters heading north. By the time darkness fell, he had estimated 630 individuals in several flocks. What a great sighting! Along with the WWSCs, he also witnessed 80 Atlantic Brant, a more regionally common sighting, but still a notable movement of migrants heading to the northwest. Bill Evans brought up the possibility of seeing these birds on the radar, so I’m going to take a closer look at the loops for Massachusetts and see if anything stands out… I’ll post an update when I’ve got something.

Until then, get out there and find some birds- it’s Spring Weekend down here, and I’ve got a hankering for some Puffinus on today’s seawatch… or maybe the Swallow-tailed AND Mississippi Kites from yesterday will return again today (and I won’t have to be in the office this time!!!!)

Good Birding!

David

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

Migration was moderate to heavy at times last night, but appeared to slow down in the early morning hours. It’s hard to tell, really, where birds were headed after 2am, since some strobing was evident in the radar images after that point. Either way, the general trend was more SW->NE than two nights ago, suggesting that less birds will have been pushed to the SE coast than yesterday (Cape May was great, by the way). More thrushes moved through, as was evident during my few minutes of nocturnal listening around 10:30pm, but I haven’t checked the entire recording to see how it compares with the night before.

Given no precipitation or opposing winds to shut down migration, expect the best locations today to be the tried-and-true migrant traps. Sandy Hook is a great choice, as the local buoy there is reading west winds at 3kts. I expect to hear about Mourning warblers feeding in the open grass today… what say you Scott? Garret Mountain should see some replacement today, and the northern Delaware Bay should too. Today kicks off the official Spring Weekend in Cape May, and I think anyone getting out to the weekend events will definitely get a taste of what makes this place so irresistible to birders. Okay, I’m off to see what’s around and will report back soon, so please make sure you stop back and give us an update on your day too!

Good Birding

David