National Overview
**Some radar data was not downloaded correctly this morning**
Below is a snapshot of the national map with radar and weather fronts. Use this map to get an overall feel of migration and how weather affects nocturnal migration. It was an interesting night of migration, lots of birds were on the move and rain was blanketing the state. Most large-scale rain events during spring or fall migration bring on the possibility of fallout conditions. This morning it looks as though migrants were pushed to the west once again. Impending rain and lightning along the west coast could have forced birds to change trajectory, that means that inland and even coastal migrant traps along the east coast may look good. Get out and bird and let us know where you ran into the best birding?!
**Panhandle report: Sorry we don’t post radar images for the panhandle, we are working on that and should be able to download radar data from the area soon. Lots of migrants are still aloft as of 9 a.m., birds are moving SW over the panhandle and out into the Gulf of Mexico. Migrant traps such as St. George Island could be amazing today, other migrant traps along the coast should be the birdiest spots.
**Jacksonville and Mellbourne: Migrants are still aloft, the most current radar images indicate to us that birds are making a turn back to the west and heading for land. Migrant traps all along the east coast from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce should be your best bet, late morning could be best as birds will take some time to reach land.
Tampa Bay
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Lots of rain and lots of birds usually mean one thing, GO BIRDING! Migrants were moving NE–>SW over the region but with rain covering much of the area we expect birds to land in anticipation of bad weather. If it has been raining all morning where you are, there is a good chance that migrants were forced down by the weather. Migrant traps such as Fort D, Sawgrass Lake, John Chesnut Park and more should yield the best results.
Miami
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
The story of the this fall, EAST WINDS, arghh! The well has been dry for quite some time down here. Today’s rainy start may just be what we need. Lots of the rain was covering the west coast of the state last night. We are hoping that birds decided to fly into the wind to avoid flying trough the weather. Low ceiling means birds will be pushed down and should be heard if they choose to fly past us. Days like this can be tricky though, birders could see virtually nothing early in the morning and be overwhelmed with birds in the late morning hours. Conditions like today keep the atmosphere cool, raptors are not out in force yet, and rain is letting up; all this could lead up to birds flying into the daylight hours. If your birding patch is slow in the morning give it try later today and compare your results.
Key West
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
Key West saw more birds flying SW over the FL Straits. We would be interested to hear from any birders at the Dry Tortugas today. Birds heading SW out over the Gulf last night could be making their way to the island as we speak. Tried and true migrant traps will be your best bet today. Fort Zach, Indigenous Park and the Botanical Park all have potential today!
As always Badbirdz depends on its readers to help us understand the magic of bird migration. We ask our readers to take a minute to email us at badbirdz-reloaded@hotmail.com, post a comment on the site or share what you are seeing on our Facebook page. As a whole the Florida birding community is large and enthusiastic about bird migration, lets join together this year to make Badbirdz an integral part of every birders toolbox. Together we can track and monitor birds and learn more about this phenomenon called MIGRATION!
Nature is Awesome
Angel and Mariel
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