News

April’s Super Pink Moon will be visible after sunset and reach peak illumination at 11:33 P.M. EDT on 26 April 2021. For those wishing to see birds migrating at night, if the sky is clear, point a telescope or strong pair of binoculars toward the moon, particularly if you are in a location where the BirdCast model predicts medium to high intensity migration.

Southerly and southwesterly winds and rain will keep most birds grounded through Wednesday. However, a wind shift to the Northwest and clearing skies on Wednesday evening should open floodgates for migration – expect moderate to heavy movements across the area….

Heavy nocturnal migration on the night of 10 September will produce another nice day for birding in the greater New York City metropolitan area. Following Monday’s hawk flight in Manhattan, featuring hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks, Tuesday will see a continuation…

Migration was generally light across much of the great New York City metropolitan area on the night of 11-12 September. High pressure off the Atlantic coast brought warmer evening conditions than either of the previous two nights, as well as…

We updated the color scheme of migration forecast maps on 13 April 2020 to add more contrast to the palette that makes visually impaired viewing easier.

As of 20 April 2020 the BirdCast live migration maps switched color palettes to match migration forecast maps. The new color palette is more suitable for viewers with green-, red-, or blue-color blindness, and is perceptually uniform in color and black-and-white (see this interesting talk by the designers of this so-called “viridis” color scale).

Continued warm, southerly winds do not bring many new birds to the region on Friday and Saturday. However, a passing cold front brings a wind shift on Saturday, and as northwesterly winds blow through the night and into early Monday…

Southwesterly winds, warm temperatures, and scattered rain will keep most birds on the ground for the end of the week through Sunday. However, a substantial change in weather is forecast late on Sunday, and there is a good chance that…

The coming week will have an interesting array of weather complemented by an interesting array of birds. The forecast will change many times, presumably, so please check for regular updates to this portion of the forecast page. Light winds may…

Southerly winds and precipitation end this week and begin the weekend, with little or no migration occurring across the metropolitan areas. By Saturday night 20 October, winds shift to the west and a pulse of moderate to heavy nocturnal migration…

Low pressure North and then East of the Great Lakes spawns moderate to heavy movements across the area on Friday 5 October and Saturday 6 October. Those in quieter areas should hear Gray-cheeked and Swainson’s Thrushes dominating the acoustic scene,…

The coming week will see rapid changes as several systems alternately shut down and spawn substantial passages of birds through the region. These movements, when they occur, should include the first substantial, primarily sparrow movements, including White-throated, White-crowned, Savannah, and…