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Continental Summary Late season movements in the West will be sparse, but more widespread light to moderate movements occur in the East during an extended period of favorable conditions. Species on the move this week will include Tundra Swan, Snow Goose, Brant, Cackling Goose, Canvasback,…

Continental Summary Light to moderate movements begin across the country this week, punctuated with some heavier movements in the Great Plains, in particular, as large numbers of waterbirds depart their winter haunts. Species on the move this week will include…

Continental Summary Widespread light to moderate movements that feature Forster’s Tern, Vaux’s Swift, Bank Swallow, Wilson’s Warbler, Hermit Warbler, and Lazuli Bunting come to the West to begin and end the period, while the East experiences a series of moderate to heavy…

Continental Summary: A divided West sees light to moderate movements, as a complex East sees several primarily northern pulses of moderate to heavy movements. Birds on the move this week will include Sharp-shinned Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,…

Pulses of moderate movements that feature Cackling Goose, Western Grebe, Herring Gull, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-crowned Sparrow will be the norm for the first half of the period in the West, while late period moderate to very heavy flights featuring Cooper’s Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Gray Catbird, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, and Nelson’s Sparrow will occur in the East after the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Nate. Hurricane Nate will bring the potential for Gulf of Mexico pelagic species far inland in the first half of the period.

A relatively quiet week of scattered light migration featuring Brant, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, California Gull, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Golden-crowned Sparrow is in store for this late migration period in the West, while the passage of two strong cold fronts spawn the season’s last major moderate to heavy flights featuring Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Great Cormorant, Purple Sandpiper, and Rusty Blackbird in the East.

Migration conditions will be generally more favorable across southern half of the West this week where moderate flights will feature Wilson’s Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Black Tern, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, and Green-tailed Towhee, while midweek in the East will see the most extensive moderate to heavy flights of Black-crowned Night-Heron, Semipalmated Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Black Skimmer, Common Nighthawk, Black-billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Canada Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and American Redstart in a pulse of significantly warmer air.

Although winter’s clutches continue to grip some parts of the country, signs of early spring movements and those to come later are appearing daily. For example, Northern Parulas are right on time in the southeastern US, as seen in the image…

Continental Summary Mid to late week favorable conditions will bring light to moderate movements to many portions of the West, while frontal passages bring an early and late week pulse of moderate to heavy movements through the East. Species on…

Favorable migration conditions early in the period bring light moderate flights to many areas of the West away from the Pacific Coast that will feature Dusky Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-breasted Chat, Bullock’s Oriole, Chipping Sparrow, while the East will see locally moderate to very heavy flights featuring Short-billed Dowitcher, Black Tern, Red-headed Woodpecker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Swainson’s Thrush, Canada Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Orchard Oriole in mostly marginal migration conditions that in many areas will hinder or inhibit migration. The second half of the period will see the best chance for more trans-Gulf migration as well as another opportunity for fallouts and concentrations with a passing frontal boundary.

Continental Summary: A warm up forecast for the East brings a flood of new arrivals during the week and a chance for more fallouts along the Gulf Coast, as much of the West continues to experience typical spring arrivals. See…

More favorable conditions with persist across the West this week, with light to moderate flights featuring Killdeer, Warbling Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, MacGillivray’s Warbler, and Western Tanager, while the East experiences increasingly favorable conditions building to spawn moderate to heavy flights featuring Great Egret, Swainson’s Hawk, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Chestnut-sided Warbler, by week’s end.