10/22 IL Migration Report

Tonight's favorable winds. Click to
watch live.

Hey folks,

Conditions are pretty good over Illinois tonight; if we were to look alone at the winds over the Prairie State, we would think that there should be explosive movements over our heads right now. Fortunately or unfortunately, this isn't the case. Winter is slowly but surely creeping its way into our state, and with it comes many bouts of precipitation and areas of low visibility. Wherever these conditions exist in IL, a damper will be put on the birds in the air there. This could be what explains the strange paucity of any sort of color from the Central IL station, or the radar there could temporarily be disabled. If the former is the case, large areas of low visibility and precipitation should continue to keep birds down. If the latter is the case, Illinois is experiencing moderate migration right now. It's hard to tell which.

And yet...a strange lack of birds
in much of the state.

Regardless, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for any arrivals

and influxes tomorrow. The latest BirdCast gives a handful of birds as a sampling of what's to come: Brant, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Black and White-winged Scoters, Hooded Merganser, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Snow Bunting.

Cool. Looking forward with our trusty Wind Forecast, favorable north/northwesterly winds are forecast to continue for the next few days. This is many migrants best chance to escape the oncoming cold, so definitely expect them to use it. And things are looking very good for you hawkwatchers too. Although it's hard to top Swainson's Hawk and Golden Eagle IN ONE DAY, it will be interesting to see what pops up, and in what numbers.

Good stuff everyone. Bon voyage and happy trails.