News

Widespread light to moderate movements early in the weekend are shut down by two consecutive disturbances in the West, while the arrival of these same disturbances in the East brings a patchwork of moderate to locally heavy movements to the…

Moderate to heavy movements occur in several pulses this week, though primarily at more local than regional scales, as storm systems exit the Northeast over the weekend and pass through the Great Plains and Upper Midwest over the course of…

The West will see a mix of marginal migration conditions spawning scattered light to moderate movements featuring Caspian Tern, Cassin’s Vireo, Barn Swallow, American Pipit, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow, while light to locally heavy flights in the first half of the period and to end the period in the East will feature Sharp-shinned Hawk, Franklin’s Gull, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Orchard Oriole, and Field Sparrow. The forecast for late in this period also suggests the first significant chance for fallouts and concentrations of migrants along the Gulf Coast.

Scattered precipitation in many areas mutes otherwise light to locally moderate movements in the West, as much of the East, particularly the Northeast, sees an early weekend movement before waiting for its first big migration pulse at the end of…

Favorable conditions for widespread light to moderate migration featuring Greater White-fronted Goose, Northern Shoveler, Eared Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Townsend’s Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-crowned Sparrow come to the West during the first half of the forecast period, while the East experiences several bouts of favorable migration conditions with moderate to locally very heavy flights of Pied-billed Grebe, Turkey Vulture, Franklin’s Gull, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-throated Sparrow.

A favorable beginning and end of the period for the West sees light to moderate flights of Gadwall, Bufflehead, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Harrier, Bonaparte’s Gull, Hermit Thrush, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and American Tree Sparrow, while a late weekend and late week pulse of moderate to heavy flights in the East feature Hooded Merganser, Common Loon, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Snow Bunting, American Tree Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow.

Complex patterns of moderate to heavy movements will reflect similarly complex patterns of unfavorable and favorable conditions in all the BirdCast regions for this period as the last of the spring season’s movements take place. Species on the move this…

This week’s migration forecast features the arrival of a strong high pressure center over the US, which will shut down migration as it approaches and builds, several disturbances that may spawn fallouts, and the potential for some European vagrants to…

Favorable migration conditions dominate the period in the West, where light to moderate movements featuring Common Merganser, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-bellied Plover, Townsend’s Warbler, Brewer’s Blackbird, and Savannah Sparrow will be widespread, while favorable migration conditions become widespread in the latter half of the period in the East, with moderate to very heavy movements featuring Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk, Sora, Northern Flicker, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Ovenbird, American Redstart, and Clay-colored Sparrow.

Light to moderate movements, primarily in the Pacific Northwest, highlight the period in the West, while the first organized frontal boundary does not bring compelling and more regional scale movements in the East until the end of the week. Species…

The most favorable migration conditions in the West bring light to moderate movements of Vaux’s Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Bank Swallow, Virginia’s Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Lazuli Bunting, and Lark Sparrow during the work work, while the East experiences moderate to heavy flights featuring Forster’s Tern, Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue-headed Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, American Redstart during a wave of favorable and unfavorable migration conditions associated with the movements of a strong frontal boundary.

Favorable migration conditions in the West will be localized and mostly occur at the end of the forecast period, when light to moderate movements, mostly in the northern reaches of the region, will feature Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Hermit Thrush, Varied Thrush and American Pipit; meanwhile, the East will see a major frontal passage and arrival of cooler air that will usher moderate to very heavy movements to the region that feature Ruddy Duck, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Belted Kingfisher, American Kestrel, House Wren, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, and Purple Finch.