News

  • March 10, 2017Regional Migration Forecast: 10-17 March 2017

    A pulse of widespread light to moderate movements in favorable migration conditions comes to the West on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with species on the move including Rufous Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Lucy’s Warbler, Hooded Oriole, and Scott’s Oriole, while highly variable, and in some cases extreme wintry, weather halts and starts mostly light to moderate flights that will include Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Osprey, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Baird’s Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Field Sparrow.

  • April 10, 2015Regional Migration Forecast: 10-17 April 2015

    Pulses of light to moderate movements will follow the favorable conditions across the West, particularly early in the week, and will feature Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Bonaparte’s Gull, Caspian Tern, Vaux’s Swift, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, and Yellow-headed Blackbird, while the East sees moderate to heavy flights that track those favorable conditions early to mid week and that feature a large number of arrivals including Green Heron, Willet, Wilson’s Snipe, Red-eyed Vireo, Cliff Swallow, Yellow-throated Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and Swamp Sparrow among many others.

  • September 1, 2017Regional Migration Forecast: 1-8 September 2017

    Pulses of early and mid period favorable migration conditions will bring similarly time pulses of moderate flights to many areas of the West featuring American White Pelican, Killdeer, Elegant Tern, Cassin’s Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and MacGillivray’s Warbler, while a significant mid period cold front will spawn moderate to very heavy flights in the East featuring Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Common Nighthawk, Least Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, numerous warblers, and Bobolink. As the remnants of Harvey plod through the eastern US early in the period, a new and currently strong tropical system (Irma) will be approaching the southeastern US by the end of the period; BirdCast will be watching closely.

  • November 1, 2013Regional Migration Forecast: 1-8 November 2013

    Scattered light movements will occur in portions of the West, as the East sees a substantial movement to begin and end the period. Birds on the move this week will include Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird,…

  • April 1, 2016Regional Migration Forecast: 1-8 April 2016

    Favorable conditions this weekend and later in the workweek will bring light to moderate movements including Green Heron, Caspian Tern, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Nashville Warbler, and Brewer’s Blackbird through the West, while cooler weather following two strong frontal passages will contrast starkly with the period’s favorable conditions and their moderate to heavy flights of Snowy Egret, American Bittern, Broad-winged Hawk, Virginia Rail, Upland Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Cliff Swallow, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Palm Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting in the East.

  • April 26, 2017Regional Migration Forecast, western and central Gulf Coast Update: 26 April 2017

    Team BirdCast has been watching the trans- and circum-Gulf movements unfold in the last days. Today’s movement is an exciting one, featuring the arrival of large numbers of migrants and another frontal boundary.

  • May 3, 2013Regional Migration Forecast 4-11 May 2013

    Unsettled weather across the West and the East complicates the migration scene this week, with light to moderate movements apparent in the West and moderate to heavy movements in the East away from rain. Numerous species are on the move…

  • May 24, 2013Regional Migration Forecast 24-31 May 2013

    With peak migration of many species past, this week will see diminish but still evident light movements in the West, while the East continues to see increasingly scattered late season moderate to isolated heavy movements. Birds on the move this…

  • April 21, 2017Regional Migration Forecast 21-28 April 2017

    The West will see light to moderate flights, particularly in the Desert Southwest late in the weekend and late in the work week, featuring Spotted Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Swainson’s Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Western Tanager, while a pulse of highly favorable migration period late in the period in the East will bring moderate to very heavy flights featuring Red-headed Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Swainson’s Thrush, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Northern Parula, and Mourning Warbler. Early period brings a dynamic and complex atmosphere will potential for Gulf Coast concentrations, where late period brings a major incursion of Neotropical migrants across and around the Gulf of Mexico, as favorable flight conditions arrive in Mexico and northern Central America at the peak of the season.

  • May 17, 2013Regional Migration Forecast 18-24 May 2013

    Light to moderate movements continue in many portions of the West, as moderate to heavy movements shift increasingly farther North in the East in areas away from precipitation. Heavy movements in the southern US will begin to wane over the…

  • March 11, 2016Regional Migration Forecast 11-18 March 2016

    The West sees a mixed bag of conditions including favorable southerly flow that will carry light to moderate movements this weekend and late in the work week as well as unfavorable (for birds at least!) precipitation that shuts down migration, while an active week in the East will see moderate flights, most widespread early in the work week and punctuated by periods of precipitation that shut down migration.

  • September 16, 2016Regional Migration Analysis: 9-16 September 2016

    Moderate and even locally heavy flights featuring Sandhill Crane, Dunlin, Merlin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, White-crowned Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow punctuated this period in the West, while moderate to heavy flights of Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Magnolia Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Palm Warbler, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Purple Finch occurred in the East following the passage of a significant cold front.

Scientific Team

BirdCast is made possible by the participating scientists at the below institutions, and many other contributors.