2022 Weather Forecasts for Migrating Songbirds #1

Published: 03/18/2022

Dear Journey North Readers,

It may not feel like spring right now, but it is right around the corner, and spring migration is already underway! Once again, this season I will be giving weekly reports on what is happening with migration and how weather is affecting it. Hopefully you have had a chance to review my Weather Map Primer. This primer covers how to read a weather map and details how the weather affects migration. 

The recent polar vortex is a good place to start with our spring weather and migration reports. Remember that migrating birds want tail winds. In the spring, tail winds originate in the south. The recent polar vortex had very strong winds (up to 60 mph where I am located here in TN!) – but from the north. These types of northern tail winds would have stopped migrants in their tracks had it occurred later in the season when migration was in full swing. In this hypothetical scenario many places would have seen large numbers of birds landing and taking shelter — something known as a fallout because it seems as though birds are falling out of the sky as they land. Luckily, it is too early in the spring migration season for a big fallout (they can be quite spectacular to see) but it did force some birds to land. 

I am currently on the South Carolina coast with one of my undergrad ornithology classes. We saw a handful of Northern Parulas, Yellow-throated Warblers, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. I have not seen any other reports of migrants from other locations. Before that big cold front came through, the earliest migrants had arrived such as Tree Swallows and Purple Martin, both now seen regularly throughout the Southeastern US.

Dust off your binoculars and get ready for a new season! 

Take care.

David Aborn