10/19 IL Migration Report

Hey everybody,

Unfortunately, we have a very short story for tonight. Strong southerly winds are dominant in our state right now, and as such almost nothing is migrating over us right now. So that's that.

Winds forecast for when the cold
front moves into IL

Looking ahead, a cold front from northwest of us is forecast to move into the state a little after midnight tomorrow night, which will bring highly favorable conditions. Depending on how quickly it moves, Northwestern or even much of Northern IL may experience moderate to heavy migration at some point tomorrow night. Northwest winds are forecast to persist at least into Monday night, so we may see some considerable

migration then.

Good stuff. Bon voyage, everyone.

10/17 (and some 10/18) IL Migration Report

Hey all,

So just a heads up, I won't be able to do any reporting tomorrow night, so I will be reporting on tonight and tomorrow night now.

Anyway, the tables have turned from yesterday. Winds are still splitting the state in half, but this time the weak, undirected winds providing little headwind are in the Northern half of the state, whereas stronger, unfavorable southerly winds are present over the Southern half of the state. This means that tonight, migration will be light to moderate in Northern IL, whereas it will be almost nonexistent in Southerly IL. Make any predictions as to what you may find out there here.

Tomorrow, we while again hail the arrival of another front carrying

Super-weak winds in N. IL as of
11:03 PM Central

westerly winds, and for a time these will be northwesterly in most of the state. However, by tomorrow night when most passerines are migrating, winds will only be northwesterly in the southerly half of the state. Expect some light migration in the northern half, and more moderate movements in the southern half.

Looking further in the Wind Forecast, after a Saturday of strong southwesterly winds, winds will become northwesterly in Northern IL, and should facilitate some movement there Saturday night.

Lots of state splitting from a winds perspective.

That's all for tonight, folks. Good luck and bon voyage.

10/16 IL Migration Report

The clear division of heavier
vs. lighter migration in
Southern and Northern IL,
respectively.

Hey folks,

Tonight, an occurrence that popped up much more during this year's spring migration has again reared its ugly head. Winds have been divided fairly clearly between the northern and the southern halves of the state, with winds mostly westerly in the north, and northwesterly in the south. So right now, looking at the radar, we see that northern IL is experiencing light migration, while southern IL is experiencing moderate to heavy migration. So if you're in this southern half of the state, you may wake up to some nice arrivals and influxes. Make predictions as to what you'll find here.

Looking at the wind forecast, overall we see nothing but continued westerly and southwesterly winds at least through Friday, so don't expect any huge arrivals at least through then.

And that's all for tonight folks. Happy Trails.

10/14 IL Migration Report

UPDATE: High Pressure System moves east; storm front over Great Plains
bring Westerly winds in our direction.

Evening folks,

Tonight is witness to the slow eastward passage of yesterday's high pressure, placing us in the influence of southeasterly winds. As a result of this unfavorable wind direction, movements are relatively paltry over IL right now, with light migration at best in northeastern and Southernmost IL. So, don't expect any huge changes in tomorrow's avifauna.

Looking forward a couple days then, it seems that along with a large storm front, westerly to northwesterly winds will again find their way into IL by tomorrow night. Luckily for us, it seems that we only have a couple days' hiatus from substantial migration.

Awesome. Have a great night all.

10/13 IL Migration Report

That big H over Wisconsin is a harbinger of colder times to come.

Hello again,

So tonight we hail the arrival of a continental-polar high pressure system, oozing into the Midwest from the North, bringing its frosty air and oh-so-confused and weak winds. These winds, providing little in the way of headwinds, are urging migrants on their way, and as a result it would be safe to say that Illinois is experiencing heavy migration tonight. To migrants, and to meteorologists, this system is a harbinger of colder times to come--systems like this cold-beckoning behemoth are what define winter in places at our latitude, and migrants would be doing themselves a favor to avoid it all together. So the struggle southward continues,  as migrants race the cold south until they escape its influence all together, and stay within the realm of their invertebrate prey.

Tonight's migration, while depicted a little melodramatically, helps to illustrate the wholly different challenges migrants come into contact with during "Fall" Migration, in stark contrast to the Spring.

Starting tomorrow, winds are forecast to become predominantly easterly, and gradually by Tuesday, are forecast to become southerly with a vengeance. There does appear to be a predicted arrival of westerly winds late on Tuesday, so we'll see what happens with that.

Anyway, that's all for tonight, folks. Here's to migrants beating the cold.

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...

10/10 (and some 10/9) IL Migration Report

Tonight's migration

Hey folks,

My sincerest apologies for missing you all yesterday. Busy nights come as they please and not necessarily at convenient times.

All said, we didn't miss much. Southerly winds have been dictating what happens in the sky the past couple nights, and for that reason migrants have been mostly grounded. Tonight we're experiencing light to negligible migration, whereas last night was a little bit heavier, with moderate migration in some places. So, as I say, that's that about that.

Last night's migration

Looking forward, things are forecast to improve this weekend. On Saturday morning, a cold front, closely followed by west/northwesterly winds, will be moving in from the west bringing favorable migratory conditions with it. Expect radar on Saturday night to be fairly colorful. Having watched a little TV weather, I got a peek at winds predicted for Sunday. These predictions have the wind coming from the north, so Sunday night may be the most active night of the weekend. We shall see, my friends.

Cool. Have a great night everybody.