4/23 IL Migration Report

Hey guess what? Illinois is experiencing northerly winds again, which are, again, in opposition to any northbound migration. The cold front mentioned yesterday did indeed pass through the state from the northwest--bringing northwest

NW winds

winds and colder temps with it. Unfortunately for migration, it did do so a little bit faster than expected, leaving any potential fallout only to the furthest southern reaches of the state (i.e. Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac counties). This should be noted if you are this far south, as local patches in this area could be buzzing with migrants tomorrow morning. It will be interesting to see any reports from the area. To wrap it all together, see the bottom of this report for the current surface analysis, which shows the cold front moving in from the Northwest. Needless to say, the combination of storms over Illinois with northwesterly winds should bring most migration tonight to a halt, and so far, the radar has reflected this.

Today, however, was a fine day for migrants. Numbers of PALM, PINE, YELLOW, and of course YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS are growing in Northern IL with increasing numbers of other species like FORSTERS TERN, CHIMNEY SWIFT, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. Also, most of the WILSON'S PHALAROPES seem to have remained today, but SWAINSON'S HAWK numbers in the state seem to have dwindled subsequently. BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS also continue to be seen. Evan Glynn reported a nice taste of the parulid variety in Champaign Co., Central IL, including such species as OVENBIRD, WORM-EATING WARBLER, both WATERTHRUSHES, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, and 16 other species. View the full report on IBF here: http://bit.ly/ZHEL6r. It's pretty awesome. Other than that, not too many reports have flown in from Southern IL, but species present/to expect in this portion of the state likely include AMERICAN BITTERN, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, GREEN HERON, OSPREY, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, both YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL and SOLITARY SANDPIPER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, YELLOW-THROATED, WHITE-EYED, and RED-EYED VIREOS, GRAY CATBIRD, SWAINSON'S AND WOOD THRUSHES, SUMMER and SCARLET TANAGERS, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, and PURPLE FINCHES. Northern IL just has to wait for warmer temps allowing for more invertebrate life to spawn before many of these birds move northward en masse. Also note that waterfowl continue to be moving north. I observe fewer diving ducks in my local patches every day, but species like REDHEAD, LESSER SCAUP, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER remain in considerable numbers, although dabblers are now by far the dominant duck species.

Tomorrow is going to be a day of unpredictability...it's very unlikely that any mass movements will occur tonight or tomorrow throughout the state (except the southern tip), so tomorrow will more likely be defined by isolated reports of rarer species or possibly western overshoots. To see a report of birds to keep an eye out for tomorrow, see my report from yesterday: http://bit.ly/ZHGuIY

Here's the big cold front bringing colder temps, storms, and northwest winds into IL. Migration will be very light.