Good afternoon, birders! Tonight the forecast for the Ithaca, NY area (at least) is looking very interesting.
The local forecast is calling for a light NW wind (3-5 mph). Currently, we've got foggy conditions (very low cloud ceiling). If the weather pattern holds true, we may see a slowly increasing cloud ceiling height over the course of the night (thanks Dave Nicosia for this info!). If this condition persists into the night, we may see an excellent night flight of low-flying night migrants (thrushes, warblers, sparrows, etc.). This means that migrants will be easily heard, but it also means that they may temporarily circle around or even temporarily settle down near well lighted areas (lighted athletic fields, mall parking lots, etc.). On the potentially detrimental side of things, this means that birds may be more prone to striking human-made objects that are in unexpectedly in the way of these night-flying birds (for example: radio towers, wind turbines, tall lighted buildings, etc.). The negative side-effects from this type of weather event may include higher than normal numbers of tower-killed and wind turbine-killed birds and an increased incidence of nighttime window-strikes at tall lighted buildings. Local areas to go to listen for migrants and check for birds (healthy or otherwise) include: lighted athletic fields (Schoellkopf Field Stadium or other practice fields around Cornell University and Ithaca College), lighted parking lots (especially those at higher elevations, such as Shops at Ithaca Mall, Ithaca College Campus, Cornell Campus, Cayuga Medical Center, etc.), near tall lighted buildings, and possibly include checking radio towers or wind turbine sites for deceased or injured birds. Hopefully, tonight won't contribute to many deaths, but these conditions invariably result in some level of casualties. Good birding and good night listening. Sincerely, Chris T-H -- Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes Field Applications Engineer Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850 W: 607-254-2418 M: 607-351-5740 F: 607-254-1132 http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
