Here’s a radar grab from the overnight period of April 2 into April 3, 2015. As you can see precipitation is moving across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with heavier waves to the west and lighter showers to the east. Midwestern areas had strong and severe thunderstorms while the Atlantic Coast especially had moderate avian migration occurring – see the diffuse and circular areas of blue centered around radar stations contrasting with the green rain. Birds avoiding this wet weather included a lot of sparrows like the White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow and Swamp Sparrow plus returning species you may not have seen yet this year like the Pine Warbler, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Phoebes, Brown Creepers, shorebirds like the American Woodcock and Wilson’s Snipe, and waterfowl such as Blue and Green-winged Teal. There are always plenty of surprises in the mix, too!
