9/6 IL Migration Report

Ugh...dismal.

Hey all!

So let's just get this out of the way now: tonight is seeing less migration in IL than has been seen for weeks. We could barely even call it light migration. Looks like the birds are in for a good night's sleep.

Waiting for the sluggish high pressure to move on east.

Southerly winds are forecast to continue for the next few days, but Northern IL may get a little burst of northerly-based winds tomorrow night, so relative to the movements we've been having, there may be a bit of a mad dash then. We'll see. It all counts on how quickly this high pressure moves on east, and low pressure comes to fill the void. In the meantime, enjoy the landbound migrants!

Happy birding!

9/5 IL Migration Report

Clockwise-rotating winds around the High Pressure System
put us right in an area of southeasterly winds...not good for
migrants.

Hey folks,

So as the aforementioned high pressure system is now in the position to bring us southerly winds, migration in Illinois is now almost nonexistent, so it looks like tonight's will be a pretty short report.

Like yesterday, the best direction for us to look is forward, but, again like yesterday, conditions remain to look pretty dismal. Winds are predicted to continue in their southerly direction at least through Saturday, providing a substantial headwind for any migrants. So in the meantime, they'll be spending their time picking your local berry bushes clean and pecking every last invertebrate out of your local mudflat. It will be a glorious time of

Paltry IL Migration tonight

fattening up, and hey, some of them may choose to push on bit by bit in spite of the unfavorable conditions. Here's to their success.

Good luck everyone!

9/4 IL Migration Report

Well now.

Check out these winds over IL--------------------->

If you're thinking, "What winds?" then you see what I'm getting at. What was our friendly neighborhood high pressure last week is shutting down all wind movement over the Prairie State. Though this isn't necessarily bad for migration, the birds aren't super into it either, as they have no meteorological assist for their movements tonight. For that reason, it isn't surprising that we only see light migration this fine evening. Those migrating will be more hummingbirds, flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, mimids, of course warblers, and as we've been seeing, the first returning waterfowl. Make your own migration predictions here: http://bit.ly/17nhLgM

Radar tonight. Click to see the
whole map.

So, the best direction for us to look is forward...well maybe not. For as far the Intellicast Wind Forecast goes (and as far in the future as I'm willing to predict), we have weak, undirected winds that eventually result in strong southerly winds on Friday. For birds heading south, that's the exact opposite of what they're waiting for. So like the migrants, we'll have to be patient and wait it out. If you find yourself out there in the next few days, spend some more time observing individuals rather than counting species, and observe the birds as they fatten up. Many of the birds in your local patches may be the same individuals for the next few days, giving us great opportunities to monitor their progress. See? We're all ornithologists!

Good stuff. Happy birding!

Southbound cold front would seem at first to hail favorable northerly
winds, but look to the north and we see that it's driven by high pressure,
hailing more weak and undirected winds.

9/3 IL Migration Report

High pressure...blah...

Hey bird folk,

So tonight, our couple of days of migratory splendor are over, as high pressure has moved onto area, making productive headwinds a thing of the past. This high pressure has brought directionally convoluted and extremely weak winds, which by no stretch of the imagination are slam dunks for migration--quite the opposite actually. Though there may not be a (strong) headwind, only light concentrations of birds are migrating tonight (see it below or animated here). This trend will continue at least through Thursday, when the high pressure moves out of our area and stops crashing the party. Here's looking forward to then.

Light movements of birds say blah
too

But by no means does this mean the party is over. Imagine the high pressure is the cops that show up to quiet down the party. The party of migration right now may be quieter, but it goes on nonetheless. Stronger flying passerines like thrushes may still be moving in decent numbers tonight with various others. During the day tomorrow, swallows, shorebirds, and raptors will probably be undeterred as well if they are fueled up to keep moving. This gets back to the dependence on condition of the individual (or whatever the migratory unit may be...could be a flock) that defines migration and adds to the chaos of tracking one species' phenology. Fun stuff like that.

Whatever the case, looking at the upper righthand corner of Illinois Birder's Forum, there are still plenty of good birds out there to see and be discovered. Will that discoverer be you?

Have a good night everybody.

9/2 IL Migration Report

Hello again,

Tonight's surface analysis

Well today was a pretty fun day to follow from my nook here in NE IL. Red Knot and American Avocet were present at Montrose at one point. The Little Gull continued at Chautauqua. But what really stood out to me, at least, were passerines. Warblers, in many places, seem to be influxing with pretty good numbers. Shorebirds, though now declining from their migratory peak, are also moving in good numbers. The last thing I'd like to know about is how productive hawkwatches were today!

Tonight's migration. Click here to see it animated.

Anyway, tonight, we again have northerly winds in the wake of yesterday's cold front, and now they're getting a little assist from a high pressure system, whose clockwise rotation is giving us northerly winds, as we're on it's east side. These winds are forecast to continue through tonight and into tomorrow, and the radar reflects this, showing light to moderate movements throughout the state. The southern tip of IL seems to be getting the heaviest migration tonight, perhaps because of it being closest to the cold front.

Anyhow, expect more arrivals/influxes of warblers (especially Tennessee, Blackpoll, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and American Redstart), flycatchers (Least, Yellow-bellied, Olive-sided, and Eastern Wood-pewee) , swallows, vireos, and even the first sparrows; White-throateds should start arriving soon. Teal and Shovelers should be arriving with them. Raptors should be migrating as well; BirdCast suggests Tuesday as a day for those in our region to man the hawkwatches. Make your own predictions as to what will be migrating here: http://bit.ly/17nhLgM. We'll see how it plays out.

Nice. Happy Birding all!

9/1 IL Migration Report

Hey there!

Winds south of the cold front in IL are less ideal for
migration...conditions will improve throughout the state as it
moves south, bring northwesterly winds with it.

Tonight, we watch not only as a large cold front and corresponding storms move southeast, but also as northwesterly winds--and strong ones at that--move into our area. These winds, trailing in the momentum of the cold front, are very good new for migration...north of the front where winds are in effect, we're getting moderate to heavy movements of birds, which means tomorrow could be a very productive labor day. Expect more warblers, flycatchers, and thrushes to arrive and influx, but also vireos, perhaps kinglets, and of course more shorebirds. Raptors, if it's not cloudy all day tomorrow, is also a very reasonable goal. Make your own predictions as to what will arrive/influx here: http://bit.ly/17nhLgM - note that most warbler species peak fall migration month is September.

Migration at the time of this post. 

Notice that movements are heavier 

north of  the front (See image  above), 

than below,  where winds are less

 ideal for migration. Click to 

enlarge.

The news gets better in the wind forecast. Northerly winds are forecast to continue at least through midday Tuesday in much of the state, so tonight may be the first night of a couple of days of substantial migration.

To see the magnitude of tonight's migration, check out this live flash animation of the radar: http://bit.ly/17tyHz1 - the column of lines moving west represent the sunset. The more green in the blue, donut-shaped forms, the denser the migration of birds.

The division between winds north and
south of the cold front is very clear.
Click to enlarge

Good stuff! Happy birding everyone.

8/30 + 8/31 IL Migration Report

Hey everyone!

So after a little added fun from storm-induced power-outages and late-night driving, I'm back in the world of the internet. I also happen to be on the opposite side of Lake Michigan. Funny how that works.

Surface Analysis at the time of this post. Note the cold front
going through Southern IL.

Anyway, what happened last night? The answer lies in a cold front moving from the north, and carrying a low-pressure system with it. This front acted effectively as a wedge for the warm, super-humid air sitting over us at the time, forcing it up into the cool upper layers of the troposphere, where condensation occurred. It was this process that caused the thunderstorms enjoyed by Northern IL yesterday, and still enjoyed by those further south as the front progresses.

This front and its storms will shut down migration in most areas briefly, but luckily for us, they are followed by northerly winds. This will carry migrants without question, and already have spurred light to moderate migration with it. This includes flycatchers, thrushes, warblers, any early sparrows, and more. To watch migration radar animated, see here: http://tempest.aos.wisc.edu/radar/us3compflash.html -- the lines in a column moving west represent the sunset...just watch the burst of blue spheres that represent the bird migration. Make your own predictions of what will be migrating with the master chart here: http://bit.ly/17nhLgM

Migration at the time of this post. Click to enlarge. Note the
storm front going through Southern IL, which corresponds
to the cold front in the image above.

These winds are forecast to become southerly and then westerly by midday tomorrow, and then by Sunday night, we will have northerly winds. But at that time, they will be much more powerful than tonight's. Definitely watch the radar tomorrow night.

Cool! Have a good night everybody.