woodcreeper

For beginners

If you haven’t ever used this site, or if you’re unfamiliar with the use of Doppler radar to monitor nocturnal bird migration, please check out the links I have listed under Radar Study on the sidebar (currently on the right-hand side). Check out Why NEXRAD and Birds? for a description of how radar “sees” migrating birds. At some point during the season you’ll read the term anomalous propagation, and wonder why the heck I’m talking about it. In most cases I’m referring to the effects of the temperature inversion which occurs after sunset and which may cause false signals on the radar. I’ve added a link to an article that describes the science behind it. It’s in pdf format, so you’ll need Adobe Reader to open it.

For Everyone

All the sites I use to gather weather information are also listed as links under Radar Study, along with a link to the GetRadar program that I used to use download the nightly imagery (I now use a custom script written by Michael Mills - thanks Mike!!). There will be some (many?) times when I just can’t get the radar posted before you head out into the field, especially for you early birds (Sandra, yes, I mean you). In your cases you might want to use this site more as a portal to the real-time radar before you head out in the morning, and as a place to add comments after a day in the field. I will also be traveling between New Jersey and Florida throughout the migration season, so there may be some time lag between posts. In the event that I cannot get the data out in time, I hope you still find the site a useful tool to getting the information elsewhere.

Feedback feedback feedback

Let me know what you think of the site. I’d love to hear from you and find out how your using the information provided on woodcreeper.com.

Good Migration,

David La Puma (woodcreeper)

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