Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
There have been substantial departures of wintering landbirds here on the gulf coast in the last week. I heard my first nocturnal migrant on the evening of the 15th while walking the dog: a sparrow call most consistent with Fox Sparrow. There are also some daytime movements of Cedar Waxwings. In spite of a hard freeze just a week ago, it definitely feels like spring down here! John O'Brien Houston, TX On Feb 16, 2011, at 11:48 AM, david nicosia wrote: > While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather > Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign > of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower > Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes > correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb > of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not > nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. > I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like > red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? > I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like > migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. > > Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through > the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states > as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I > will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles > and robins by Friday in upstate NY? > Think Spring!!! > Dave Nicosia > Johnson City, NY > > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
All, If you want to see early movement on radar, there is a nice departure of presumably waterfowl from the Lake Charles LA radar for -0130 UTC, 17 Feb (now, as I am sending this message). Nice thing to do is look at the velocity image, and see targets moving away from the radar rapidly in a different direction/speed (depending on what altitude you examine) than winds aloft . . . Best, Andrew On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 4:00 PM, david nicosia wrote: > I will definitely check this next couple nights. Makes > sensebugs go with the wind, birds use the wind > to go where they need to go. Thanks Dave. > -- > *From:* David La Puma > > *To:* david nicosia > *Cc:* Samuel Galick ; NFC-L > *Sent:* Wed, February 16, 2011 3:29:13 PM > > *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! > > David, Sam, et al. > > If you check the target velocities against the wind velocity you > should be able to determine whether they were birds or not. Insects > will move across the radar at similar winds speed and direction as the > prevailing winds, while birds will tend to move 10-15kts faster than > the reported winds (use the nearest radiosonde data) and often at a > bearing slightly different than the prevailing winds (they know where > they want to go, and don't mind a little corrective flight). > > Cheers- and good radar watching, > > David > > > David A. La Puma > Postdoctoral Associate > New Jersey Audubon Society > 600 Route 47 North > Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 > Office: 609.861.1608 x33 > Fax:609.861.1651 > > Websites: > http://www.woodcreeper.com > http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com > > Photos: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper > > > > > > > > On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 1:13 PM, david nicosia > wrote: > > Thanks!! I did not know about insect blooms. Neat. > > That would make more sense since waterfowl migrate > > fairly high up and go day and night to my knowledge. > > > > It looks like the south will remain in prolonged southerly > > winds at 925 mb until friday night when a cold front pushes > > southward. There will be a 48 hour period between > > today and Friday with southerly winds across > > the Gulf of Mexico. Purple Martins likely will make a > > push into the deep south. I am not sure > > of any other neotropical migrant that begins to > > arrive in the Gulf States so early. any thoughts?? > > Dave Nicosia > > Johnson City, NY > > > > From: Samuel Galick > > To: david nicosia > > Cc: NFC-L > > Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 12:55:20 PM > > Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! > > > > Hey Dave, > > > > I saw this too! But more often than not so early in the season, these can > be > > insect blooms from recent warm temperatures. There's no denying that this > > crazy shot of temperatures will cause some bird migration this week. > Other > > thoughts or observations from the South or elsewhere? > > > > Sam > > > > On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:48 PM, david nicosia > wrote: > >> > >> While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather > >> Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign > >> of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower > >> Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes > >> correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb > >> of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not > >> nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. > >> I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like > >> red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? > >> I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like > >> migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. > >> > >> Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through > >> the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states > >> as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I > >> will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles > >> and robins by Friday in upstate NY? > >> Think Spring!!! > >> Dave Nicosia > >> Johnson City, NY > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > Sam Galick > > Cape May, NJ > > sam.gal...@gmail.com > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgalick/ > > > > > > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
I will definitely check this next couple nights. Makes sensebugs go with the wind, birds use the wind to go where they need to go. Thanks Dave. From: David La Puma To: david nicosia Cc: Samuel Galick ; NFC-L Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 3:29:13 PM Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! David, Sam, et al. If you check the target velocities against the wind velocity you should be able to determine whether they were birds or not. Insects will move across the radar at similar winds speed and direction as the prevailing winds, while birds will tend to move 10-15kts faster than the reported winds (use the nearest radiosonde data) and often at a bearing slightly different than the prevailing winds (they know where they want to go, and don't mind a little corrective flight). Cheers- and good radar watching, David David A. La Puma Postdoctoral Associate New Jersey Audubon Society 600 Route 47 North Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Office: 609.861.1608 x33 Fax: 609.861.1651 Websites: http://www.woodcreeper.com http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 1:13 PM, david nicosia wrote: > Thanks!! I did not know about insect blooms. Neat. > That would make more sense since waterfowl migrate > fairly high up and go day and night to my knowledge. > > It looks like the south will remain in prolonged southerly > winds at 925 mb until friday night when a cold front pushes > southward. There will be a 48 hour period between > today and Friday with southerly winds across > the Gulf of Mexico. Purple Martins likely will make a > push into the deep south. I am not sure > of any other neotropical migrant that begins to > arrive in the Gulf States so early. any thoughts?? > Dave Nicosia > Johnson City, NY > > From: Samuel Galick > To: david nicosia > Cc: NFC-L > Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 12:55:20 PM > Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! > > Hey Dave, > > I saw this too! But more often than not so early in the season, these can be > insect blooms from recent warm temperatures. There's no denying that this > crazy shot of temperatures will cause some bird migration this week. Other > thoughts or observations from the South or elsewhere? > > Sam > > On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:48 PM, david nicosia wrote: >> >> While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather >> Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign >> of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower >> Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes >> correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb >> of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not >> nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. >> I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like >> red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? >> I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like >> migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. >> >> Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through >> the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states >> as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I >> will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles >> and robins by Friday in upstate NY? >> Think Spring!!! >> Dave Nicosia >> Johnson City, NY >> > > > > -- > Sam Galick > Cape May, NJ > sam.gal...@gmail.com > http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgalick/ > > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
David, Sam, et al. If you check the target velocities against the wind velocity you should be able to determine whether they were birds or not. Insects will move across the radar at similar winds speed and direction as the prevailing winds, while birds will tend to move 10-15kts faster than the reported winds (use the nearest radiosonde data) and often at a bearing slightly different than the prevailing winds (they know where they want to go, and don't mind a little corrective flight). Cheers- and good radar watching, David David A. La Puma Postdoctoral Associate New Jersey Audubon Society 600 Route 47 North Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Office: 609.861.1608 x33 Fax: 609.861.1651 Websites: http://www.woodcreeper.com http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 1:13 PM, david nicosia wrote: > Thanks!! I did not know about insect blooms. Neat. > That would make more sense since waterfowl migrate > fairly high up and go day and night to my knowledge. > > It looks like the south will remain in prolonged southerly > winds at 925 mb until friday night when a cold front pushes > southward. There will be a 48 hour period between > today and Friday with southerly winds across > the Gulf of Mexico. Purple Martins likely will make a > push into the deep south. I am not sure > of any other neotropical migrant that begins to > arrive in the Gulf States so early. any thoughts?? > Dave Nicosia > Johnson City, NY > > From: Samuel Galick > To: david nicosia > Cc: NFC-L > Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 12:55:20 PM > Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! > > Hey Dave, > > I saw this too! But more often than not so early in the season, these can be > insect blooms from recent warm temperatures. There's no denying that this > crazy shot of temperatures will cause some bird migration this week. Other > thoughts or observations from the South or elsewhere? > > Sam > > On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:48 PM, david nicosia wrote: >> >> While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather >> Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign >> of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower >> Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes >> correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb >> of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not >> nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. >> I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like >> red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? >> I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like >> migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. >> >> Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through >> the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states >> as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I >> will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles >> and robins by Friday in upstate NY? >> Think Spring!!! >> Dave Nicosia >> Johnson City, NY >> > > > > -- > Sam Galick > Cape May, NJ > sam.gal...@gmail.com > http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgalick/ > > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
Thanks!! I did not know about insect blooms. Neat. That would make more sense since waterfowl migrate fairly high up and go day and night to my knowledge. It looks like the south will remain in prolonged southerly winds at 925 mb until friday night when a cold front pushes southward. There will be a 48 hour period between today and Friday with southerly winds across the Gulf of Mexico. Purple Martins likely will make a push into the deep south. I am not sure of any other neotropical migrant that begins to arrive in the Gulf States so early. any thoughts?? Dave Nicosia Johnson City, NY From: Samuel Galick To: david nicosia Cc: NFC-L Sent: Wed, February 16, 2011 12:55:20 PM Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning! Hey Dave, I saw this too! But more often than not so early in the season, these can be insect blooms from recent warm temperatures. There's no denying that this crazy shot of temperatures will cause some bird migration this week. Other thoughts or observations from the South or elsewhere? Sam On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:48 PM, david nicosia wrote: While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather >Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign >of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower >Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes >correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb >of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not >nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. >I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like >red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? >I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like >migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. > >Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through >the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states >as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I >will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles >and robins by Friday in upstate NY? > >Think Spring!!! >Dave Nicosia >Johnson City, NY > > -- Sam Galick Cape May, NJ sam.gal...@gmail.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgalick/ -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nfc-l] Bird Echoes on the Radars Early This Morning!
While finishing my overnight shift at the National Weather Service this morning, I couldn't help notice a sure sign of spring: bird echoes on NWS radars from the lower Mississippi valley to the lower Ohio Valley! The echoes correlated well with southwesterly winds at 925 mb of around 20-25 knots. The echoes were very "light" and not nearly as extensive as we see later in spring but it is the beginning. I wonder if this is waterfowl or early migrant songbirds like red-winged blackbirds, robins, grackles, song sparrows etc? I always though that blackbirds, robins and the like migrated during the day. So would it be waterfowl? H. Anyway, I expect this early migration to continue through the Ohio Valley into the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic states as a southerly flow will remain until Friday. I wonder if I will see my first migrant red-winged blackbirds, grackles and robins by Friday in upstate NY? Think Spring!!! Dave Nicosia Johnson City, NY -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
