News

Tanagers bring the most incredible splashes of color to spring migration across the continent. Check out the movements of three migratory species over the last month.

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.

An evolving frontal boundary will make for some interesting conditions along the Atlantic Seaboard to transport birds farther afield than they might typically travel in the coming 72 hours.

The spring window for peak bird migration in Texas has arrived, so it’s time to get outside and experience the coming spectacle! Just doing one simple thing will help protect these migrating birds: turn off all non-essential lights between 11pm and 6am every night to go Lights Out and reduce collision risk!

Continuing frontal boundaries and associated unstable weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico are going to make for some interesting migration patterns in the coming week.

The GloBAM research consortium published a letter in Science with a call for European national meteorological agencies to provide biological and meteorological data from its radars.

In the early morning hours of 9 April 2021, La Soufrière in St Vincent erupted and has continued to do so in dramatic and disastrous fashion in the days since the first explosion. The ash plume from these eruptions now spans a wide swath of the globe from the Caribbean to the western Mediterranean. Birds migrating through this plume may experience hazardous conditions, so observers in areas where concentrations of sulfur dioxide and other volcanic emissions are high should monitor birds’ behaviors and physical conditions for potential signs of impacts.

The BirdCast team has unveiled a new feature on our maps! Forecast and live migration maps now indicate the total number of birds in flight above the contiguous United States.

On Saturday 10 April, a frontal boundary is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico region. Beginning midday Saturday, birds may begin concentrating in coastal habitats, particularly in the Upper Texas and southwestern Louisiana coasts; but events may be quite complex, because forecasts suggest that the front will stall.

Easterly winds are blowing in the North Atlantic, and they may bring some surprise visitors to northeastern North America.

With this season’s migration underway, the BirdCast team would like to highlight the potential for an unusual migration event associated with predicted weather in the Gulf of Mexico region. The first significant cold front likely to interact over the Gulf of Mexico with incoming trans-Gulf migrants is predicted to pass through the region from 17-20 March. Let’s take a moment to review the current conditions while considering some of the (simplified) mechanics of this fascinating system.

Winter Storm Xylia is forecast to bring a blast of late winter to the Central Rockies and northern Great Plains this weekend and early next week. Birds will certainly respond to this storm, especially those of more open terrestrial habitats, by seeking more favorable locations free of snow if possible.