5/20 IL Migration Report

A big stormy scar down the center of our state

So let's take yesterday's report (http://bit.ly/19Y0yZv) and push it forward to tonight, shall we? Instead of last night, the storms really seem to be moving in our state with some conviction tonight, and already cover much of the state. See the radar in the sidebar to the right for more. This means that I don't have too much to predict as far as migration goes for tonight, as the storms will be keeping the birds down. In areas outside of the storms, we are experiencing southerly winds, so birds may be moving if possible. Some fallout is possible, but tonight will definitely not see as much movement as last night. Birds will mostly be staying put.

But that's okay, because there were a ton of good birds around. One group to really highlight from today that has finally seemed to arrive in better numbers is Flycatchers. LEAST FLYCATCHERS

Wind tonight confused by the storms

appeared in greater numbers, ALDER and WILLOW FLYCATCHERS became more prevalent, and even YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS influxed a bit. EASTERN KINGBIRDS and EASTERN WOOD-PEWEES brightened up many's day as well. This is a tough phase for many birders, as flycatchers are one of the most challenging groups of birds present in Illinois. If you're feeling challenged, I advise you to get out there with a more experienced birder and learn about empids in the field. Books and the internet just don't do the trick with these guys. Anyway, warblers continue to be moving through, with CONNECTICUT WARBLERS and MOURNING WARBLERS appearing in greater numbers. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS also continue their movement northward. Less birders reported seeing shorebirds around today, but I'm sure some good numbers of SANDERLING and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER were present in the prairie state.

Overall, the birding could be good after the storms tonight...we just gotta' wait it out! That's certainly what the birds are doing.

Click here to view this page and all its goodies

Here's some salient links for useful info:

Wind forecasts to predict when bird will be moving: Northern IL: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL: http://bit.ly/124R3WX

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I've made a habit of sharing.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

That's all for tonight, folks. Good luck, and stay safe tonight in Spring's craziest weather.

5/19 IL Migration Report

Insane storm line preceded by migration over IL

So, Northern IL, we're going to have some storm fun tonight, aren't we? In all seriousness, hazards tonight are not only serious for us humans, but also for migrants, who will be grounded with the activity of tonight's storm system. Luckily, southerly winds will continue through the event of any storm activity, and migration should resume at good numbers after it passes. See the complex combination of systems carrying the storm activity to the right. If you're not under the influence of imminent storms tonight, bird migration will remain moderate to heavy tonight, and southerly winds are in perfect condition to carry birds northward (right into the storms). See here: http://bit.ly/16C9MhJ or here: below. Looking at IL now (http://bit.ly/10dD7XT or http://bit.ly/ZJd7mw), birds are moving through the whole state in mostly moderate levels, but in some heavy and some light concentrations here and there. If you're in an area that could be receiving storm activity beginning close to dawn tomorrow morning, know that migratory fallout could occur as birds are forced down out of the sky, and large numbers of them could appear seemingly out of nowhere. Cool!

Wind at the time of this post

Alrighty, so how about today? Today saw a considerable ebb in bird activity in many places, with migrant numbers down from yesterday. However, this wasn't an absolute trend; some places were packed with good birds, and in many places, localized breeding residents are returning to their territories. One species that exemplified this today was BLUE GROSBEAK, which was reported three times today, all three in Northern Illinois. Another example of this is Summer Tanager. As per usual, fewer reports came in from the rest of the prairie state, but I suspect that things were more productive, especially in Southern IL. Radar showed much more movement there than anywhere else last night.

Moving forward through the next few days, it looks like throughout the state, winds will remain southerly in the favor of migrants (Northern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). So the next few days should be pretty good compared to any ebb

An ugly but useful 18 hour wind forecast. Click to enlarge.

today, but the time will be coming soon when migrants have, save a few groups, mostly made it to their breeding grounds. I don't want to think about it, as this spring still hasn't had too many days swarming with peak concentrations of  migrant passerines, but May will be done before we know it :(. We still have a few weeks of migration, so let's make the most of it!

Anyway, to figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I've made a habit of sharing.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

That's all for tonight, folks. Good luck, and be safe in the oncoming storms.

5/18 IL Migration Report

I had a fantastic day of birding today, and it seems like many other people did too. Warblers, Vireos, and Thrushes (oh my!) were all over the place today as with the past few days, and shorebird migration seemed to be occurring at low levels throughout the state as well. If you didn't get out there today, definitely do so tomorrow. Looking at longer-term forecasts, this weekend may end up taking the cake for most species rich/dense weekend of Spring 2013, or at least the one that saw the most movement of the most species. The conditions for next weekend are by no means set in stone, but are forecast to be ENE throughout the state, which is pretty dang unfavorable for migrants.

Looking toward the coming week, it looks like Sunday and Monday nights may facilitate moderate to heavy migration as they are both forecast to hold strong southerly winds (Northern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). Cool! We'll see how these week plays out, but it looks like southerly winds should continue in most places this week. Storms in the middle of the week may even result in localized fallouts. All we gotta' do is keep our eyes peeled.

Compare Southern Illinois to...

...Northwestern Illinois.

Click to explore eBird Data

Taking a look at tonight, winds are primarily southerly with an easterly push to it. This, for one reason or another, is resulting in heavier migration in Southern IL, which is reflected by he radar: http://bit.ly/ZJd7mw.

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I've made a habit of sharing.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

That's all for tonight, folks. Good luck!

5/17 IL Migration Report

I have to do the report a little early tonight, so please excuse the lack of references to radar. It's not quite active yet.

Neat view of winds in IL tonight

Winds in IL right now are fairly simple to interpret: unfavorable easterly winds in the northern half of the state and favorable (yet weak) southerly to southeasterly winds in the southern half of the state. This means migration will, for the most part, be concentrated in the southern half of the state tonight, likely with light migration in the north. As the night progresses, winds are forecast to become progressively weaker and progressively more easterly; in spite of this, migration should be moderate tonight, but don't expect too many huge arrivals or influxes tomorrow that are different from today, unless you're in southerly Illinois. One area to keep an eye on tomorrow with the east winds is the lakefront, as any shorebird movement will be blown in toward the shore. Lakewatches for shorebirds may be fairly productive, but it's by no means certain, as winds aren't as southerly along the lakefront. We'll see how the winds and the birds they carry play out tomorrow.

Winds are forecast to remain southeasterly throughout the state for much of the weekend until midday Sunday, so it looks like Sunday night may again see the largest concentrations of migrants out of this weekend. Not a bad weekend for migrants though, to be sure. For the Northern half of the state, see this wind forecast: http://bit.ly/10Qj1Zr. For the Southern half, see here: http://bit.ly/10QiZAS.

Lots of birds have been moving through IL the past few days, with more than 20 warbler species, 3 vireo species, 3 spotted thrush species, orioles, catbirds, gnatcatchers, sparrows, and all that jazz commonplace on birders' lists. Less frequently reported highlight species to keep an eye out for include YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WHITE-EYED VIREO, CERULEAN WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, BLACK TERN, and PIPING PLOVER.

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I've made a habit of sharing.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

Happy Friday, everybody; I'll be out there with you tomorrow. Good luck!

5/16 IL Migration Report

So tonight, I'm going to keep the discussion about today's migrants to a minimum, not because today's birds weren't awesome, but both because it's getting late and last night saw a little less migration, so birds today were mostly the same.

The big news is happening RIGHT NOW. Look at this

Illinois is barely discernible! Click for a live image.

In case your jaw hasn't dropped at the concentrations of birds moving over our state right now, see the images from all of the 6 NEXRAD units in IL below. Everywhere in Illinois, dark blue and green rule the radar, indicating that moderate to heavy concentrations of birds are moving over our heads as I type this very sentence. Why, you ask? Look no further than here: http://hint.fm/wind/. The state is currently experiencing nearly universal southerly winds, with a frontal boundary creating easterly winds in NE IL. This means that in addition to any arrivals and influxes observed throughout the state tomorrow, NE IL's migrant traps, more likely inland ones, will be packed as birds stop moving in the unfavorable easterly winds. Awesome!

Looking forward into this weekend, winds in N IL are forecast to become more easterly tomorrow, and will gradually shift back to southerly by Saturday, though winds will be SE until early next week. Elsewhere in the state, it appears that winds will be uniformly southerly to southeasterly (like tonight) this weekend, and will shift to southwesterly by early next week. Regardless, winds are forecast to have some sort of southerly influence throughout the state into next week, so birds will be moving north during this time.

Disordered list of IL's current Radar images:

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I shared the past few days.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

Get excited folks! It should be a pretty good weekend. Until tomorrow, over and out.

5/15 IL Migration Report

Arrivals of Mourning Warbler in the past 7 days

Today was a fantastic day. Still waiting in suspense for the Big Day Crew's total, we looked on as birders reported huge numbers of birds along the lakefront in Cook and Lake Counties (see this report: http://bit.ly/13n0SNR), and at the same time, observed the lull in Southern IL birding, an observation made astutely by Keith McMullen (scroll down here: http://bit.ly/15Oy0F7). Birds moved in
considerable concentrations last night, and while the Northern half of the state seems loaded with awesome birds, Southern IL is mysteriously lacking in some groups. It will be interesting to see how this plays out...also interesting that whereas Southern IL had a lot of early migrants earlier this spring, things have slowed down since then (or haven't accelerated). Any more posts on Southern IL birdlife are always appreciated.

Notable movements today included RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, MOURNING WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, YELLOW-THROATED and RED-EYED VIREO, SORA, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, SANDERLING, and DUNLIN, though obviously there were many more species out today. The Big Day crew reported 150 species by 10:30 AM (!!!), and more than 100 species were reported at Montrose today.

As Matt Fraker observed in his stunning warbler post (see here on IBF: http://bit.ly/10HmsMd), there was a line of northerly winds met by our southerly winds in Wisconsin last night, and all migration pretty much stopped there. Well, this line has proceeded south into our range, and is dividing the state into regions of northerly and southerly winds. The northern half of IL is currently experiencing northerly winds, and the southern half is experiencing southerly winds. You can see the reason for this below this paragraph. Luckily, the cold front that is bring in these northerly winds isn't moving with much conviction, and thus these winds aren't very strong (see here: http://bit.ly/10HmHH7), so birds are still proceeding northward in light to moderate concentrations. This is especially true in NE IL-> I'm tellin' you folks, these birds cannot be stopped! Migration is still moderate to heavy in Southern IL. This windy discrepancy shouldn't last too long, as winds are forecast to become southerly again tomorrow afternoon (Northern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). Looking further ahead, this weekend should also be really good for migration, so if you haven't made plans to get out there, make some!

The cause of tonight's wind discrepency

For a neat visualization of tonight's winds, see here-------------------------------------------------->

Cool! So tonight should be slightly less productive for migrants in the northern half of the state tonight, while Southern IL retains its favorable conditions that it has retained for the entire week.

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I shared yesterday and the 13th.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

That's all for tonight, folks!

5/14 IL Migration Report

So firstly, check out tonight's winds on this snazzy display --------------------------------------->
Guess what? As predicted, we are again experiencing very favorable conditions for migration. Our state is, like last night, host to southerly winds with a bit of a westerly twang to it. As heat swept across the state from the southwest today, winds actually become more powerful in their direction, so tonight should be as good for migration as last night was, if not a bit better. And this means the whole state. From Carbondale to Winthrop Harbor, birds may even be audible as they fly over in the blackness of night, and for those of you with the desire to stay up late, without too much background noise, you may be able to observe migrants moving north directly (i.e. without radar). Worth a shot, right? Cool!

These conditions should last into tomorrow, when, as predicted, winds will become unfavorable in some areas. For the Northern half of the state, see this wind forecast: http://bit.ly/10Qj1Zr. For the Southern half, see here: http://bit.ly/10QiZAS. Lucky for us, favorable conditions should return on Friday to rack up a great weekend of birding.

Tonight's report wouldn't be complete without a summary of today's birds, as, well, they were pretty great. The first IBET report this morning was of a CONNECTICUT WARBLER in DuPage Co, which truly is a sign of the progression of migration northward. Birds like MAGNOLIA WARBLER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, ORCHARD ORIOLE, LEAST SANDPIPER, and the like are beginning to work their way toward peak levels throughout the state (worded carefully), which is certainly something to get excited about. Another species worth noting, Pine Siskins have made a remarkably late stay in IL, and ultimately appear to be breeding residents in some places. As well-advised by Steve Bailey, keep an eye out for potential Siskin nesting sites (nest info here: http://bit.ly/129SUZ1). This is where your sightings really count...we're all ornithologists in one way or another!

Range map of Pine Siskins during the summer. Note low frequencies in IL. Map created with eBird.

I got a lot of positive feedback on last night's report, so rather than posting a giant list, I will again post eBird frequency charts to help you draw your own conclusions and make your own predictions. If you don't already know, my goal is ultimately to make migration forecasters out of all of you, and this is a great what to get started. Here y'are: http://bit.ly/129Tru1

eBird Data...all sorts of fun. Click to see this page.

The above-linked chart is one that I pre-defined to generalize the entire state. You can make your own http://bit.ly/129Tfed. After you select Illinois as your region on the left, you can select your own county on the right for charts based on data specifically from there, and even from individual locations. Awesome, right? EBird is just too good.

Good stuff folks. Keep an eye on the radar, then. It should be lighting up in full splendor soon.
here: