| Fri.PM | Sat.AM | Sat.PM | Sun.AM | Sun.PM | Mon.AM | Mon.PM | Tue.AM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |  | | | |  | |
Migration Weather Forecast
Birds are here, and more are on the way tonight, even before the weekend kicks into full swing. Things will then taper off quickly after the next front passes and it'll be Tuesday night before another big push into the mid-Atlantic.
Friday Night
Southwesterly flow began on Thursday night, but as I was visiting some crazy family members in Long Island, I had no opportunity to update the forecast. For that I apologize. Friday night should be the bigger show of the two nights though, as the next cold front presses eastward and the winds along the front turn due-south. Expect heavy migration into the mid-Atlantic region with heavy precipitation moving in after 2am. This should limit the amount of bird traffic to our north and possibly ground some migrants en route.
Saturday, Sunday & Monday Nights
The next cold front will cross the mid-Atlantic on Saturday morning, and northwest winds will build in behind it. This will effectively shut down migration over the region until the next front approaches on Tuesday. By Monday night, though, southerly flow will return to the Southeastern US and the southernmost parts of the mid-Atlantic. Therefore I have updated the forecast flag to yellow, indicating some migration activity into the region. The real fun will happen on Tuesday night, but that will have to wait until the next forecast.
Birding Forecast
Saturday Morning
Birds is the word for Saturday morning... birds, and rain, that is. Morning showers should help concentrate migrants in the mid-Atlantic region. It's always a good idea to check the radar and see the configuration of the cold front relative to the 'migration cloud'. You can do this right here on this website using the interactive map at the top of the page. Another way to check is, assuming migrants are widespread across the region (which they should be), check the weather to see at which locations the rain began after midnight. Migration peaks around midnight, so these locations should have the highest concentrations of birds due to premature grounding.
Don't pass up birding on Saturday just because of the weather as most models show the precipitation moving out by late morning. The Delaware Bay shore (NJ) and Garret Mountain (NJ) are two very good destinations for Saturday morning.
Sunday & Monday Morning
Once the cold front passes on Saturday the mid-Atlantic will experience cool dry air coming in from the northwest. Nice weather and new arrivals means good birding conditions as migrants will stick around through Tuesday given the northerly winds.
Tuesday Morning
With southerly flow expected to increase over the Southeastern US, expect new birds in the southernmost parts of the region, such as Virginia and possibly even southern Delaware for Tuesday morning.
For rapid migration alerts you can follow me on Twitter (link at the top of this page), and for finding out what's being seen today in Cape May you can check the View From the Cape, on BirdCapeMay.org
Good Birding,
David La Puma
<< Home