5-28-16: Final Spring 2016 Migration Report

Hello birding friends,

Tonight, Illinois is experiencing very little migration due to the weather systems that are moving across the state. This doesn't; however, mean that the birding will be "bad" tomorrow - it just means there will be little turnover which actually might be a good thing in that it means it is keeping those migrants around at least one night longer. ;-)

This will be the final migration report of spring 2016 - I sincerely hope they have proven to be helpful, concise, and informative this season and I will be writing them again in the fall.

Finally, I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows migration is not over yet! Many birds (flycatchers, "ground warblers," etc) migrate through well into June, so definitely keep seeking out migrant birds even though I won't be writing these reports until the fall. I usually would want to write until the last night in May; however, I will be out of internet range for most of this weekend because I will be in Michigan (attending a wedding, and in search of Piping Plover & Kirtland's Warbler!).

Happy migration everyone, hope you've all enjoyed the beautiful spectacle of spring migration, surely one of the most wonderful things nature has to offer!

Feel free to email anytime (I will still be posting trip reports on IBET like always), and you can find my birding blog here: worldbirding.travellerspoint.com

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-26-16

Hello birding friends,

Tonight, with overall favorable winds across the state, a moderate flight of migrants is flying over the entire state tonight This means that, once again, it would be prudent to get out to your local hotspot tomorrow (Thursday), wherever you are located in the state, to look for late-end-of-the-spectrum migrants.

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-25-16

Hello birding friends,

With southerly winds again, the entirety of Illinois is experiencing moderate migration over our skies tonight, so tomorrow (Wednesday) would not be a bad day to get out and look for late-migration species.

Loving this warmer weather!

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-24-16

Hello birding friends,

With the southerly winds tonight, there is uniformly moderately-heavy migration over the entirety of the state, so wherever you may be, tomorrow would be a good day to get out to search for some of the migrants that come through on the later end of the spectrum.

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-23-16

Hello birding friends,

Tonight, Illinois is experiencing moderate levels of migration in the northern two-thirds of the state to moderate and somewhat heavy densities of migrating birds over the southern third of the state. Tomorrow (Monday) should be a good morning to get out if you can! Now that it is approaching the final stages of spring migration, let's enjoy these migrant birds while we still can.

Looking ahead, I will be posting through this week, and Friday night (May 27) will be the final migration report of this spring - although that certainly doesn't mean that spring migration ends Friday; it should last until about mid-June with some species.

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-22-16

Hello birding friends,

Moderate migration tonight with moderately heavy levels in the far southern tip and also the northeastern part of the state tonight...it might be a good morning tomorrow (Sunday) to check Lake Michigan locations because of the westerly component to the winds, pushing birds toward the lakefront.

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)

5-20-16

Hello birding friends,

Moderate to heavy migration statewide tonight due to only very light winds across the state. It should be a good day to get out anywhere, but especially in the southern third of the state where rain later in the night could ground any flyover migrants, meaning there is possibly a chance for fallout conditions in that area.

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Oak Park, Cook County)