woodcreeper » Fall Migration 2004

Migration last night

David La Puma — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 13:01:37 +0000

Birds were on the move over the Northeast last night. The radar loop is from sunset last night through 8:30am this morning, and shows a moderate amount of migration over New Jersey. There is some anomalous propagation present, due to the significant difference in earth and air temperature after sunset (resulting in temperature inversion) but the velocity still shows objects moving across the radar at speeds +10-20kts faster than the prevailing winds (ie. birds).

Hopefully Bill gets a good day up on the hill…wish I could be there!
Good Birding!

Fall Migration Wrap Up

David La Puma — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 02:31:38 +0000

So it looks like Fall Migration has come to an end. Really though, it hasn’t stopped altogether, but the majority of southbound migrants have made their way out of the north and down toward their wintering grounds in anticipation of the approaching cold. Judging by the reports from the great white north, an owl/winter-finch invasion may be on our horizon in the near future- so get out there and bird!
Although I’ve said it before, I’d like to reiterate a heartfelt thanks to those of you who participated in this website over the past three months, and invite you all to continue visiting and sharing your experiences here at Woodcreeper.com. I’ll be starting up the spring study in mid April and I look forward to your feedback. In the meantime, I hope to run into you in the field, be it on one of Paul Guris’s pelagic trips, or huddling behind the lighthouse at Barnegat trying to get a glimpse of a King Eider, or warming up in the car in-between scanning the ducks at Shark River. On second thought, how about when we find a Northern Hawk Owl at the Somerset Airport…wouldn’t that be nice?

Good Birding

David

Birds over New Jersey

David La Puma — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:17:26 +0000

Good numbers of birds moved over NJ last night with north winds and clear skies. I don’t have the radar downloaded, but you can check it out here at the real-time site.

cheers

David

Birds on the move

David La Puma — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:28:55 +0000

Steady NW winds and clear skies have made the past two nights quite favorable for migration. Below are the radar and velocity loops from the past two nights, which show a moderate amount of birds departing just after sunset and moving south/southwest across the state until sunrise.

11.08.04 – 11.09.04 (sunset to sunrise)

11.09.04 – 11.10.04 (sunset to sunrise)

This will all change by tonight when the winds switch out of the southwest. Expect little to no migration until after the next front passes on Thursday night. Unfortunately it looks like the front will pass too late to have any effect for Thursday, but Friday night should see some action.

Birds on the move

David La Puma — Tue, 09 Nov 2004 11:09:06 +0000

Last night’s radar showed really good movement of birds over our area, with winds out of the NW and clear skies leading the way. Our first freeze of the year happened last night, and the birds to our north will surely respond. I don’t have the radar downloaded yet but I’ll try and get it up later in the day. In the meantime, you can check the real-time radar site instead.

Cheers