Migration on a Soggy Night

Migration is heating up across North America! With every night that passes, more and more birds are headed south. Florida birders are beginning to enjoy the daily arrival of neotropical migrants. Those cute little buggers are back and ready to inflict warbler neck. If you aren’t careful you can put yourself out of the game, so take proper measures 🙂

Today we saw migration ready birds taking flight just after yesterdays sunset. Winds at 3,000ft were ripe for a Gulf Flight and birds took note. Looks likes many birds took the ocean route rather than an overland migration. Signals were pouring out from the Nature Coast as well as the panhandle and out over the Gulf of Mexico. Most of these birds will be able to make it out over the ocean by morning, but some will choose to return. If this happens, coastal migrant traps such as Fort D and Honeymoon Island may see lots of birds after sunrise. Coastal hot spots along the panhandle may also experience some morning flight due to overshoots.

Central state locations along the east coast may be slower than one would like due to winds. These winds are more conducive with pushing birds to the west and away from coastal locations. This makes inland locations your best bet for today.

Precipitation dominated the night over South FL, particularly the Greater Miami area and the Florida Keys. Birds were on the ground yesterday according to “Boots on the Ground” reports. We heard a few Swainson’s Thrush and Bobolink flying low overhead just after sunset and then again around 2a.m., perfect timing for birds dropping in over Miami. Some of these birds might attempt to fly a bit south, but all this storm activity might have put them down earlier than they expected. With the constant threat of rain and variable winds overnight, we should see an increase in migrant activity. Winds were again favoring inland or west coast locations. Atlantic coastal locations may be overshot by birds riding a tailwind on their descent. Look out for migrants at inland migrant hot spots such as AD Barnes, Kendall Indian Hammock, Lucky Hammock/Annex and other inland locations. Coastal spots should have lesser numbers due to the onshore winds.

The Keys are likely to see birds stacking up as they await favorable migration conditions. We expect an increase from yesterday’s reports of migrants on the ground. Hope to hear from the FKH Crew.

Hit us up on our Badbirdz Facebook page and tell us what you are seeing. What new birds did you see or hear? How did the weather affect your birding spot today? We want to hear from you 🙂

Nature is Awesome
Angel & Mariel