Subscribe
- A Cottonwood Seed
- BehindTheBins
- Bird Cinema
- Bird Freak
- BirdChaser
- Birdfreak
- Birding for Handicapped
- Birding is Fun
- BirdingOnTheNet
- BirdNote Podcasts
- Birds, Etcetera
- Central NM Audubon
- Chapel Trail Nature Ctr
- Children & Nature
- Cornell Online BirdGuide
- Cottonmouth moccasin
- Eagle Nest
- Great FL Birding Trail
- Hawks Bluff Park
- Illinois Birders' Forum
- Janine Images
- Jones Meadow Park
- Kane County Audubon
- KidWings
- Laura's BirderBlog
- Les Arends FP
- Lippold Park
- Nature Photography
- Nelson Lake FP
- New Jersey Audubon
- Ornithology Course
- Rick Wright
- S Florida Eagle Watch
- Somewhere in NJ
- South Florida Audubon
- SurfBirds
- The Hawk Owl's Nest
- Tropical Audubon
- Tucson Audubon
- Vermillion River Wildlife
- West Miramar ESL
- Wild Bird Wednesday
- WingAndSong NM Blog
- BirdChat
- BirdNote Podcasts
- Bird News Network
- I and the Bird
- Birding the Slopes of Turrialba Volcano
- Wiggle like a Woodcock
- Bird Guides of the World: Jeremy Yip, China
- Meeting of the Waters in Manaus, Brazil
- Birding Cat Tien NP, Vietnam (Part 2)
- Where north meets south – wintering gulls off Atlantic Iberia
- Birding Impressions from California
- Birding in a Moroccan Town
- Birding the Slopes of Turrialba Volcano
- FL Migration Radar
- General
- Birding & Outdoors
- Rutherford & NJ
- NM & SW US
- Florida & SE US
- Medical
- INDEX to Blog
- Hurricane Camille
- Getting Drafted
- Supai Canyon AZ
- Grandchildren
- Sandia Crest
- Capulin Spring
- Illinois
- Birding “Patches”
- Bald Eagle Nest
- Alaska
- MyWorld
- Wild Bird Wednesday
- Book Reviews
- Bird D’pot
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
Pretty much on schedule, the winds shifted to the southeast last night, bringing about much more favorable conditions for migrants venturing across the Florida Straits. I expected that there would almost surely be some spectacular radar images overnight, for BADBIRDZ to display in the morning.
I checked the Key West radar at bedtime, and found a “teaser” image. While the one-hour loop provides little but a glimpse of the big picture of neotropical migration, the fluid motion from the quick refresh rate lends a dramatic touch. The depth of the blue color (10-15 DBZ) suggests a density of 71 to 109 birds per cubic kilometer. This morning, BADBIRDZ tells the whole story that is introduced by this “trailer.”
One-hour Key West loop at about 10:00 PM shows flocks departing en masse, first from the Keys, and then from the north coast of Cuba.
The Miami loop also showed a lot of activity, with a good number of birds apparently coming right over my house. I went outside, looked and listened for about 10 minutes. I heard nothing unusual. The moon was nearly full and straight up. I looked at it through binoculars until my neck and arms burned, and my eyes watered too badly, but saw no birds cross its face.
Miami radar one hour loop, at a little after 10:00 PM, again shows the beginning of what should prove to be a very interesting night. Now, we’re off to Illinois to catch up with that wave!