Here’s the radar- I’ll be back tomorrow with more interpretation.

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/16/12

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 5:00am (central time) this morning

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Wisconsin

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

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird

One of the fascinating things about spring migration is that once it gets going, it really doesn’t die down until June. Conditions were mixed across the country due to a number of surface lows and frontal boundaries, with precipitation along the East Coast keeping some birds from moving locally. At the regional scale, though, birds were migrating from coast to coast and from Mexico to Manitoba.

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/15/12

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 4:00am (central time) this morning

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

The front moving across the east coast last night kept most birds from moving over the Mid Atlantic except for the most easterly sector where southerly winds and clear skies opened up the flyway for moderate levels of migration. New Jersey, therefore, did receive some new birds this morning with the added possibility of localized concentrations due to the precipitation. Judging by the velocity I would expect the best birding conditions to be at interior ridges such as Garret Mountain, and those stopover sites along the northern Delaware Bay shore and along the Delaware River. Coastal hotspots such as Sandy Hook should see new birds today as well and could possibly have some pockets of high migrant density due to the precipitation early this morning. Go Birding!

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Things over the Upper Midwest are still sub-optimal for a big influx of birds, and as such we continue to get low-level and highly dispersed migration through the region. Upper level winds over IA and IL are still out of the NW which is keeping nay birds from moving up into the region from farther south, although light southerly winds are allowing those migration-ready birds to move out. We saw this on both the Davenport and Chicago radars where low to moderate levels of migration were apparent last night. Migrant density did drop quickly after midnight suggesting birds are taking short hops under such sub-optimal conditions.

Wisconsin

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

The same hold true for Wisconsin where light to moderate levels of migration were apparent across the state. Expect little concentration in any one spot as birds will be dispersed across the landscape today. With so many birds in the system, though, birding conditions should still be good throughout the state’s many Important Bird Areas. Many breeding birds are on territory now, filling the air with birdsong wherever you go. Get out and bird- you never know what you might find!

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird

With the exception of the southeastern U.S. being under heavy precipitation, most of the country experienced moderate to heavy migration last night. I’m going to keep this short and sweet in the interest of catching up from being away for two days… and my desire to get outside where the birdsong is almost deafening!

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/14/12

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 5:00am (central time) this morning

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Migration was hot and heavy along the east coast last night, at least wherever precipitation hadn’t taken hold before sunset. Looking at the radar you can see heavy movement out of the Delmarva and over New Jersey throughout the night with most birds heading on a strong SW->NE trajectory. Precipitation did cut off the source of migration eventually last night, but not before a good number of birds made it into the state. I expect good to excellent migration conditions at spring migrant traps throughout NJ today with some of the better birding being at Sandy Hook and other coastal hotspots to the north. Garret Mountain should also see new birds but the eastward trend in migration will favor coastal locations today.

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Migration was light to moderate up through the Midwest last night and the IA and IL radars reflect that. Pre-sunset conditions were clear skies and light northerly winds which are reflected in the velocity images (low velocities with a NNE->SSW trajectory). As birds take to the sky the trajectory switches reflecting the increase in northbound targets (birds) entering the radar’s view. As is typical under non-optimal conditions, migration wanes quickly after midnight as birds begin to put down. Expect birds to be dispersed across the landscape today with little concentration at any one location.

Wisconsin

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

As with IA and IL, the Wisconsin radar indicated a typical migration pattern when under sub-optimal conditions. Expect birds to be dispersed across the landscape today with the best birding conditions being at spring migrant traps and areas of high breeding bird diversity and densities.

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird

I was out of cellular range over the weekend and so couldn’t get the radar posted on the mornings of May 12th and 13th. Here’s the radar from Saturday evening through the early morning on Sunday the 13th.

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/13/12

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 5:00am (central time) this morning

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Wisconsin

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

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird

I was out of cellular range over the weekend and so couldn’t get the radar posted on the mornings of May 12th and 13th. Here’s the radar from Friday evening through the early morning on Saturday the 12th.

National Composite NEXRAD from around midnight on 5/12/12

Below are the radar loops from sunset last night through 5:00am (central time) this morning

Since I will be publishing “as I go” each morning you may see some incomplete posts throughout the early morning hours. Don’t worry- it’s coming!

Mid Atlantic

Delaware & New Jersey

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

Upper Midwest

Iowa & Illinois

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

Wisconsin

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

As always, woodcreeper.com depends on YOU to report your sightings and be our ‘eyes on the ground’, so please come back and give us an idea of how we’re doing predicting birding conditions in your neck of the woods.

For migration updates in other regions check-

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – The Northwoods BIRDAR by Max Henschell <- NEW!
New England – Tom Auer’s blog
Florida/SE – Badbirdz Reloaded by Angel and Mariel Abreu
PA/Ohio Valley – Nemesis Bird by Drew Weber
NW Ohio – Birding the Crane Creek by Kenn Kaufman
Arizona – Words About Birds by Tim Schreckengost <- NEW!
New Mexico – Albuquerque Birding by Matt O’Donnell <- NEW!
Pac NW – Birds Over Portland by Greg Haworth
Continental US – eBird BirdCast Forecast & Report by Team eBird