5/13 IL Migration Report

Look! Illinois is blue with birds! Moderate to heavy migration is occuring throughout the state tonight

At long last, the beginning of a period of migratory greatness is beginning tonight. The state is finally experiencing dominant southerly flow throughout the region, and the birds are certainly responding to it

tonight, especially in the southern third of the state (http://bit.ly/ZJd7mw). This means that things like LEAST FLYCATCHER, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, RED-EYED VIREO, MOURNING WARBLER, and many more species will begin moving further northward to make up for lost time in the past week or so. Yay! Southerly type winds will have an influence on the state for much of the week, but the forecast has changed considerably from yesterday. It appears that Tomorrow night, the winds will take on a strong westerly component, and by Wednesday night, the state will be divided into thirds: Northern IL with NW winds, Central IL with W winds, and Southern IL with SW winds (Northern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/14neVJd, Southern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). So conditions are significantly more favorable for migration tonight and tomorrow night; Wednesday night may fall short in some areas. I'll keep you posted on the weekend; it looks like after a brief interruption by Northerly winds on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday should be great days for birding. How convenient!

Rather than giving you a full fledged (pun?) report on birds of the day, and list of birds to be looking for, I'm going to give you some eBird resources. These are my (and many bird people's) secret weapon. The amount and quality of information available to amateurs like myself is truly in a class of its own, and it has certainly changed the way I bird. That's enough evangelism though, so here's some links:

IL Rare birds found in the last week: http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN35545

Frequency Graphs for 432 species of birds seen in IL: http://bit.ly/11A4gKW --specifically look for species whose frequency increases notably in May. This is a great way to predict which species will be arriving/influxing next.

Good luck, everyone! Tomorrow should be better than today for sure, so if you can, make sure you get out to check your local patch.

5/12 IL Migration Report

Today saw more movement than the past few days, with rarer birds and slightly larger concentrations of neotropical migrants, primarily warblers, present almost universally throughout the state. Species like CERULEAN WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, and MOURNING WARBLER were the highlights of this. Sparrows were also prevalent, with VESPER SPARROWS and HENSLOW'S SPARROWS reported on territory at the northern edge of the state. Thrushes continue to move through as well, with everything from WOOD THRUSH to VEERY being reported throughout the state. More in the margins but still worth noting, flycatchers, vireos, and migrant cardinalids were reported frequently today. Overall, as with the past few days, a large variety of birds are present in our state; we're just waiting for the heavy movements that make spring so great.

And guess what? The forecast hasn't changed from yesterday, even though high pressure is moving in now. If you're in Southern IL, migration is already moderate to heavy for you

, but for the rest of the state, Tuesday and Wednesday nights will really hold the most favorable conditions (strong southerly winds), although Monday night might be really good as well (Northern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/12sOHQz, Southern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/12sONHX). Speaking in generalizations, this week should be a birding game-changer, bringing new species in greater concentrations along with more of the species already present. Get your eyes ready, because soon, you won't know which bird to look at first in your local patch.

Check out specifically Southern IL, where most of tonight's migration is concentrated.

Get excited folks! Lots of good stuff is comin' down the pike, and when it does, I'll make sure you're ready.

Here's some good stuff to be lookin' for. Expect this list to change soon: birds to be on the look out for arrivals/influxes of in YOUR area include BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, GREEN HERON, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, COMMON GALLINULE, maybe SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, PECTORAL, SPOTTED, LEAST, and SOLITARY SANDPIPER, DUNLIN, SANDERLING, UPLAND SANDPIPER, WILLET, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, FORSTER'S TERN, COMMON TERN, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL, CHIMNEY SWIFT, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, LEAST FLYCATCHER, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, BLUE-HEADED, WHITE-EYED, WARBLING and RED-EYED VIREO, HOUSE WREN, SEDGE WREN, MARSH WREN, all the expected swallows, all the expected sparrows (especially take note of LE CONTE'S SPARROWS, HENSLOW'S SPARROWS, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS), SWAINSON'S, GRAY-CHEEKED, and WOOD THRUSHES, warblers including but not limited to BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, PRAIRIE WARBLERS, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, PINE WARBLERS, YELLOW WARBLERS, HOODED WARBLERS, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, NORTHERN PARULAS, LOUISIANA + NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, WORM-EATING WARBLERS, COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SCARLET and SUMMER TANAGERS, ORCHARD and BALTIMORE ORIOLES, BREWER'S, RUSTY, and YELLOW HEADED BLACKBIRDS, INDIGO BUNTINGS, BOBOLINKS, and possibly early DICKCISSELS. And with migration, there are always chances of early overshoots and vagrants too.

5/11 IL Migration Report

So, we still have northerly winds. Tonight, winds are coming mostly from the northwest, and are a bit stronger than last night's winds. This means, unfortunately, that again we will be having marginal migration tonight, and again, I can't tell you that conditions will improve by the end of the weekend. The winds, already with a westerly element tonight, are forecast to weaken and become more westerly until the state is dominated by weak, west winds late Sunday (Northern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/14neVJd, Southern IL Wind forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). From here, the winds are forecast to take on a southerly element in the west and south edges of the state. Overall, this period of weak winds (represented by blue on the wind forecast I linked to above) will be our best bet for migration in the next few days, but this isn't saying much. We may get light migration Sunday and Monday nights, but beyond that, ***our next period of favorable migratory conditions looks to be Tuesday and Wednesday night. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Better yet, looking at some extended forecasts, it looks like southerly winds will again be dominant throughout the state next weekend. If you're in Southerly IL, there should be southerly element to the winds all week. So good stuff is comin'...we just gotta wait a couple more days.


As far as the avifauna in the area go, we essentially had the same stuff around today that we did yesterday. All regular thrush species, for example, are represented in our state, with VEERY, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, and WOOD THRUSH being around in decent numbers but definitely in not in the full swing of their migration. The same goes for warblers, which are represented in IL with more than 20 species, most of which aren't influxing in full strength. Flycatchers, represented by LEAST FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, and a few others are present in some places in IL, and like others are spring-loaded to continue the movement north. Shorebirds are still migrating at low levels, with species like LEAST SANDPIPER and SANDERLING making a presence in the state. Terns like COMMON TERN and FORSTER'S TERN are also present in fair numbers. Icterids like BOBOLINK have been noted in the past few days, and cardinalids like INDIGO BUNTING show similar concentrations. Overall, there are many species around, but most of them aren't around in very large concentrations.


That's all for tonight, folks. Be ready for this coming week, as it will bring a dramatic improvement in conditions for migration.

Migration at the time of this post

5/10 IL Migration Report

Tonight's radar

I'm on the road tonight and have to write this report on my phone, so this should be pretty short and sweet. Luckily, there isn't much to write about, as IL is again ruled by strong northerly winds, right down to the
southern tip of the state. So it looks like Saturday will remain to be fairly unremarkable as far as migration goes. This is reflected by the radar, which shows the east and south (check out Louisiana!) lighting up while completely leaving out the Midwest, which is experiencing light migration right now at best. So it looks like, for the most part, tomorrow's birds will largely be the same as today's. Tomorrow looks like it will be a sit tight and fatten up day for migrants.

That's what I got for now, folks. Feel free to comment with any questions on things I didn't cover. There still hasn't been any significant movements of new species, so the assortment of species remained the same today, for the most part. This should again be the case tomorrow. In any case, good luck and happy birding!

5/9 IL Migration Report

As predicted, Central and Southern IL are experiencing moderate to heavy migration tonight in the recently developed southerly winds. This means that tomorrow morning will likely be very productive for those of you

Southerly IL Migratory craziness

in the areas. Northern IL, though developing more southerly winds than predicted, is still experience relatively weak and inconsistent winds compared to the rest of the state, and on top of that, we have precipitation. This will likely keep most of the migrants in N IL down, although it may create some fallout in the species that are moving north into it. Regardless of this, tomorrow morning could still be really good--probably better than today--throughout the state, so if you can get out there, definitely do so. This weekend, or at least Saturday, is not cracking up to be very favorable for migration, so tomorrow's your chance.

Sorry to say it, but it looks like Southerly and Central IL's southerly winds will only last as long as it takes tonight's frontal boundary (boundary between two air masses that generally correspond with low-pressure systems) to move in from the west. This means that the southerly flow will likely dissipate before tomorrow night, when the state will again be ruled by predominantly northerly winds. These northerly winds should already dominate northern IL by tomorrow morning (Northern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL wind forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX). Yipeee.

A few species to highlight from their movement today, as today wasn't half bad for birding (like a WESTERN TANAGER in Lake Co): BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, ORCHARD and BALTIMORE ORIOLE, and SCARLET TANAGER. There were many more species out there today, but these are a few of the biggest contenders.

To see a giant list of birds to look for, see the bottom of yesterday's report: http://bit.ly/13BYB3K

Finally, here's an excerpt from an Illinois Birders' Foruum Post by Eric Walters, which does an awesome job at making some longer-term predictions for next week's migration:

"Looking at the extended weather forecast, it sure is looking like next Tuesday, May 14th will be good for S. and C. IL (along with some portions of Nw. IL).  Next Wednesday, May 15th should have new migrants present as well as moving through all day long - like this year's potential Spring peak on Shavout!  While S. IL is looking like they'll have daily movement all the way into that following weekend, things look rather interesting for Thursday, May 16th in some sections of N.IL and Ec. IL.  That day has bad weather and strong Nw winds slamming into the 2 days of bird migrants, so some locations could have fallout conditions.  Things might slightly change as we approach those days, but is sure looks like folks might want to consider on taking birding vacation days next midweek!"

That's it for tonight, everyone. A huge congrats to the Illinois record breaking Big Day team! Fantastic work and best of luck to those next up to bat. (Read all about their Big Day here on IBF: http://bit.ly/15uzZ1t)

5/8 IL Migration Report

Almost southerly...

Tonight's winds...almost not there.

Today was an interesting day, with migration having finally occurred at some notable levels last night. In spite of this, though some arrivals and influxes were noted, concentrations of migrants were rather low today. The warbler count, for example, was lower on many birders' counts today. There were a few isolated, interesting reports, but it was very hard to discern any mass movements from last night, likely because last night was on the lighter side of migration.

Tonight has kicked it up one very small level, and this is solely because of weak winds with a slightly more southerly orientation. We see mostly light but some moderate migration in the state right now, and even some heavy movement in Southern IL right now (sweet!). Interestingly, the northern half of the state has extremely confusing wind direction tonight (http://bit.ly/13BTUa6), while the southern half is experiencing more definitely westerly winds (http://bit.ly/13BTVuX). This doesn't matter much now, http://bit.ly/10Qfjz3), but looking at the wind forecasts, it matters a lot. Northern IL, with the more confused winds, is forecast to remain with these winds at least through Friday (scroll through this wind forecast: http://bit.ly/10Qj1Zr). So it looks like more favorable conditions that might have been may not be coming, unless you're in Central, or especially Southern IL. Southern IL, with more definite westerly winds tonight, will gradually shift into the influence of southerly winds and then back to westerly by Friday (scroll through this wind forecast: http://bit.ly/10QiZAS). This means migration will be much better the next couple of nights in Southern IL than in Northern IL, and the radar tonight reflects this. That said, as we've seen between last night and tonight, these forecasts can change rapidly, so always keep an eye on things. And with these weak winds, birds will still be migrating throughout the state tonight...just more in Southern IL.

as the winds are so weak that light to moderate migration is happening anyway (

***So if you're in Southern or Central IL, tomorrow and especially Friday morning will be the best times to find new arrivals and influxes. If you're in Northern IL, tomorrow should be the best day for migrants compared to the next few days, but even then, concentrations shouldn't be huge***. Expect a few arrivals/influxes, but not anything big by any stretch of the imagination.

To see a giant list of birds to look for, see the bottom of yesterday's report: http://bit.ly/13BYB3K

That's what I got, folks. Keep an eye on the radar, and most importantly the winds. Highly favorable will come again at some point soon...we just have to be ready!

The culprit of all this craziness: low-pressure all over the place.

5/7 IL Migration Report

Hi everybody!

 

A quick note: I attached my giant list to this report just because I haven't the past few days, but if you focus on anything in this big collection of words, the first two paragraphs have the most relevant information to your birding experience.

 

At long last, the echoes of the return of favorable conditions are being heard. High pressure has

Tonight's surface analysis...high pressure

moved into the area, bringing its slow and weak winds into the area (http://hint.fm/wind/). These conditions will likely last through tomorrow. But is potentially better for migration than the past few nights, which have been ruled by northerly winds. Looking at the surface winds (http://bit.ly/13v4YGb), we see that in most places, there isn't even a definite direction to the winds. Overall, they seem to be northerly, but the point is that there aren't any strong headwinds. Though there certainly isn't any strong tailwind to give the birds an extra boost, less is stopping them from migrating, so tonight will probably see light and maybe a low level of moderate migration (when I say light, moderate, and heavy, I'm referring to the densities of birds moving per cubic kilometer). The radar is proving this prediction correct, with light to moderate migration in Southern IL, and light migration in most other places (check out IL here: http://bit.ly/11RiKRb or here: http://bit.ly/10Qfjz3). Cool! It's not a huge improvement to the past few days, but hey, it's something! If you're in Southern IL, definitely keep an eye out for the products of tonight's movements if you make it out there tomorrow.

So how about some longer-term forecasting? Winds, with the systems of high-pressure and interfering low pressure here and there, winds will remain to be very weak with confusingly inconsistent direction for the next day and a half, though northerly and westerly winds will be the overall theme depending on where you

Tonight's migration: light to moderate in S IL, light elsewhere

are. But come Thursday afternoon...drumroll...we see the return of more powerful southerly winds to the area (see image 16 here for S IL: http://bit.ly/10QiZAS or image 16 here for N IL: http://bit.ly/10Qj1Zr). There will still be areas of incongruence, but overall, it looks like ***Thursday night will be a major improvement in migratory conditions***. It looks like the southerly winds will last through Thursday night and into Friday, but around then it is forecast that winds will again become northerly. This is still longer-term forecasting and is in no way set in stone, but right now this is in my plans. So, if you're looking for a good time to get out there and get the most out of it, I say ***concentrate your efforts on Friday morning***.

Cool! Today, fewer reports came in than yesterday, so let's use my giant list as a sort of combined report/prediction. Here we go: birds to be on the look out for arrivals/influxes of in YOUR area include BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, GREEN HERON, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, SORA, VIRGINIA RAIL, COMMON GALLINULE, maybe SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, PECTORAL, SPOTTED, LEAST, and SOLITARY SANDPIPER, DUNLIN, SANDERLING, UPLAND SANDPIPER, WILLET, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, FORSTER'S TERN, COMMON TERN, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL, CHIMNEY SWIFT, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, LEAST FLYCATCHER, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, BLUE-HEADED, WHITE-EYED, WARBLING and RED-EYED VIREO, HOUSE WREN, SEDGE WREN, MARSH WREN, all the expected swallows, all the expected sparrows (especially take note of LE CONTE'S SPARROWS, HENSLOW'S SPARROWS, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS), SWAINSON'S, GRAY-CHEEKED, and WOOD THRUSHES, warblers including but not limited to BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, PRAIRIE WARBLERS, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, PINE WARBLERS, YELLOW WARBLERS, HOODED WARBLERS, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, NORTHERN PARULAS, LOUISIANA + NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, WORM-EATING WARBLERS, COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, SCARLET and SUMMER TANAGERS, ORCHARD and BALTIMORE ORIOLES, BREWER'S, RUSTY, and YELLOW HEADED BLACKBIRDS, INDIGO BUNTINGS, BOBOLINKS, and possibly early DICKCISSELS. And with migration, there are always chances of early overshoots and vagrants too.

Cool then. That's all for now. I'll be looking forward to your reports from tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be wondering how many more Spotted Towhees we can turn up. Happy birding!

About when southerly winds will occur as we become ahead of counter-clockwise rotating low-pressure systems