9/4 IL Migration Report

Well now.

Check out these winds over IL--------------------->

If you're thinking, "What winds?" then you see what I'm getting at. What was our friendly neighborhood high pressure last week is shutting down all wind movement over the Prairie State. Though this isn't necessarily bad for migration, the birds aren't super into it either, as they have no meteorological assist for their movements tonight. For that reason, it isn't surprising that we only see light migration this fine evening. Those migrating will be more hummingbirds, flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, mimids, of course warblers, and as we've been seeing, the first returning waterfowl. Make your own migration predictions here: http://bit.ly/17nhLgM

Radar tonight. Click to see the
whole map.

So, the best direction for us to look is forward...well maybe not. For as far the Intellicast Wind Forecast goes (and as far in the future as I'm willing to predict), we have weak, undirected winds that eventually result in strong southerly winds on Friday. For birds heading south, that's the exact opposite of what they're waiting for. So like the migrants, we'll have to be patient and wait it out. If you find yourself out there in the next few days, spend some more time observing individuals rather than counting species, and observe the birds as they fatten up. Many of the birds in your local patches may be the same individuals for the next few days, giving us great opportunities to monitor their progress. See? We're all ornithologists!

Good stuff. Happy birding!

Southbound cold front would seem at first to hail favorable northerly
winds, but look to the north and we see that it's driven by high pressure,
hailing more weak and undirected winds.