Silent Migration

I spent some time outside tonight listening for nocturnal migrants. One yippee dog from the east, lots of peepers from a neighbor's pond to the west, situated almost a quarter mile away -- man, those little guys are loud - but no birds to be heard from overhead. I'm sure they're aloft tonight, but apparently inaudible from our yard.

As of 11:00 PM EDT the continental map is flush with activity. That midwestern corridor (Texas - Dakotas) is the place to be, like last night. Birds are in flight across the Gulf coast, Florida, and South Carolina. There appears to be a line of birds coming into the Florida Keys from Cuba. Not too much in the midAtlantic due to the stormy weather across Delaware, Maryland, and eastern Virginia. Closer to (my) home, there appears to be some movement over central/eastern New York, which could bode well for us out here in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.

Base reflectivity at 11:00 PM EDT from Binghamton, NY
(70 miles east of our place).

Winds have been coming from east-northeast most of today, this evening they shifted to come from straight north. Perhaps that slowed migration, perhaps the birds are moving around our hill, perhaps they're at a higher altitude than I can hear. But based on the radar, they're up there.

The Binghamton, NY radar image shows a widespread flight of birds, I interpret this to mean there should be birds above us here in "Elm" (we're covered in the grayish wash west of the blue). If the birds are moving north (base velocity shows the birds are actually moving northeast), maybe I should be more concerned with what's coming south of us.

Base reflectivity at 11:00 PM EDT from State College, PA
(105 miles southwest of our place).

State College, PA radar also shows birds in the air, base velocity shows the birds heading due north. I'm not comfortable predicting what to expect in the morning, other than you can expect me to be out searching our hill for newly arrived birds. I hope you'll be greeting some, too!

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