Weather Forecast for the Birds March 15, 2001 Contributed by Dr. David Aborn Dear Students: Last time I showed you how to read a weather map and to use weather maps to predict where people might see lots of migrants. This week is a good test for you. Monday (3/12) a cold front passed across the southeastern US. The rain ahead of it and northerly winds behind it forced some of the early migrants to land. While numbers are not high, there are increasing reports of Blue-headed Vireos and Tree Swallows throughout the region, including here in Tennessee. The winds behind the front were not very strong, and most birds headed north on Tuesday, so people in the mid-Atlantic and mid-western states may start to see their first migrants. The Weather Channel If you look at the weather map for Wednesday (3/14), what do you see? You should notice that another cold front is moving across the country. It will bring rain and winds to the southeast again by Thursday (3/15). This means that people along the Gulf coast states and southeast should keep their eyes open for birds arriving from the tropics that were forced to land. Again, there should not be big numbers yet, but a few of the other early migrants may start to show up, such as Black-and-white Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and Yellow-throated Warblers. Things will only get better for a while, so clean your binoculars and start looking! Take care. Dr. David Aborn Ornithologist, Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Tennesse at Chattanooga David-Aborn@utc.edu Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form