10/12 IL Migration Report

Hey all!

Sorry again that I missed you all last night, but luckily, we have a very good report tonight compared to last night.

It starts with the storm front that very conveniently moved through the Prairie State this afternoon. This very large front, spawned from an even larger low pressure system now sitting near the Hudson Bay, moved in from northwest of us, and brought favorable northwesterly winds with it. Not only that, but the front seems to have sucked a lot of the remaining moisture out of the sky, leaving clear skies with a tailwind open to all migrants.

And it this point, in the right places, you can probably even hear them. To be a bit histrionic, migration is exploding tonight, and the radar is on fire. But this isn't the kind of fire we know. This is the dark blue or green fire that indicates anywhere from 300 to 3000 birds migrating per cubic kilometer. Simply put, get out to your favorite local patch tomorrow, because it should be a'hoppin' with birds. Which birds, you ask? Along with the continued movements of warblers, the last thrushes, shorebirds, and raptors, also expect some more wintery-types to be arriving and influxing, like kinglets, juncos, and even American Tree Sparrows. Also keep your eyes peeled for first arrivals of diving ducks, especially if you have a chance to bird along the lakefront. Open country birds like Sandhill Cranes, Horned Larks, American Pipits, and Lapland Longspurs will also be on the move tomorrow, so if you can, get out there! Make more of you own predictions here.

That big ol' cold front did us (and of course the migrants) a
favor. Favorable NW winds are trailing behind it.

For once, wind forecast shows that tonight's favorability doesn't end tonight! At least through Monday morning, winds are forecast to be northerly based. Thereafter, things will be more easterly. 

Very good, indeed. Here's to some great birding tomorrow! You may run into me out at Montrose...