I just checked the nights migration status on the two local NEXRAD radar stations. ? First is WA coast from Langley Hill which overlooks Ocean Shores and shows the birds moving along the coast and the west side of the Olympic Range. ?At 10:30 PM Aug 14 there is a clear and heavy southern migration pattern showing. ?Lots of birds were headed south along the coast as you would expect. ??http://radar.weather.gov/radar_lite.php?rid=lgx&product=N0S&loop=yes? ?

Second is Seattle radar on Camano Island that shows a similar pattern of thousands of birds on the move through the night moving down the Strait of Juan de Fuca and out of Canada then southward through the central Puget Sound. ?http://radar.weather.gov/radar_lite.php?rid=atx&product=N0V&loop=yes??This link shows the base velocity loop. (Things that are moving.) ?Movement from green toward red shows direction of flight. ?Think of an arrow with the darker colors at the feather end and the lighter toward the point. ?Gray indicates that the birds are moving parallel to the radar beam.? You can see this on the coastal screen shot below. ? Green at the top shows they are heading toward the radar station. Then there is a gray band as the birds pass along the coast directly in front of the antenna. ? Finally the color changes to red meaning they are now moving away from the radar antenna toward the south. ?


Clicking on the above links of course will show your current radar screen not what I'm viewing tonight. ?To radar bird-watch live you need to check-in beginning around 10PM local time. Here is a link to the screen shots from tonight so you can see what I'm describing.?
http://s607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/rayleeholden/Radar%20Birding/


What are they? ?Well you can't tell that from the radar image. ?It shows all the birds in the cloud the same but they will be the same birds you will see on the shores feeding if you go to the coast tomorrow. ?In fact you can infer that a heavy migration pattern the night before should translate into good birding the next morning as they stop to feed and rest. ?A more detailed look will provide data on numbers of birds per hour, altitudes, and average flight speed but I'm not an expert and won't go into that. ?And if you like you can click on Portland radar next and then the following?stations and watch their progress throughout the night. ?Or you can go out the the Gulf Coast and check up on birds jumping off across the gulf. ? It's a fun tool.?


Happy NEXRAD birding. ?
?
Ray Holden
Olympia, WA

Life is for the birds.