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Posts Tagged "low"

Heavy and low avian migration in Jamestown

Posted on Oct 19, 2014

Heavy and low avian migration in Jamestown

This past Wednesday, October 15, I was outside in downtown Jamestown, New York, for much of the night. An area of low pressure had moved by earlier in the day and precipitation had cleared. Clouds were thinning and moving east. There are plenty of unnatural noises to hear on a typical night in the City of Jamestown – music, people shouting, vehicles and often large trucks passing by. There was also an incessant yet subtle chorus of noises coming from the low levels of the sky in the form of avian flight calls! Birds were moving south and in strong numbers with almost endless peeps and...

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Wind, climate change and raptor migration

Posted on Oct 4, 2014

Wind, climate change and raptor migration

Earth’s climate and weather play a direct and constant role in the lives of birds. At no point is this impact from mother nature more widely observable than during migration. Global winds shape the timing and track of bird movements across the continents and the sea. In this case I wanted to take a look at September 2014 and how it seems to have been a climatic “throwback” in the Northeast for our birds. If you talk to folks in many portions of New England the Mid-Atlantic about the weather in 2014 you often hear how it was very average in terms of temperature and...

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Avian migration and high pressures – September 28, 2014

Posted on Sep 28, 2014

Avian migration and high pressures – September 28, 2014

Did you enjoy the summer-like weather across the Northeast this weekend? At this time of year if it feels that gorgeous and benefits warm weather lovers it denies the birds a cooperative migratory flight. This radar grab from a few minutes ago shows very light migration across much of New England and the upper Mid-Atlantic thanks to a few weak areas of high pressure giving us this warmth and mostly calm or light southerly winds. One high is centered over Lake Michigan, another between Iowa and Missouri and a third in Virginia, with all three causing the only decent avian movement to be found...

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Broad-winged Hawks and hawk watch season

Posted on Sep 9, 2014

Broad-winged Hawks and hawk watch season

It is nearly time for an exhilarating explosion of raptors down the eastern seaboard. Kettles like this filled with tens, hundreds and thousands of Broad-winged Hawks like these are on the way. I’m ready…and the weather will be soon. Stretch your necks now. I’ll have more to come on the raptors, flight conditions, species to look for and hawk watching in action throughout the next few months.

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Cold front spurring migration

Posted on Sep 6, 2014

Cold front spurring migration

As thunderstorms are impacting us here in Chautauqua County on the edge of a strong cold front birds are in flight on the cooperative northerly flow in its wake. The roughly circular areas of green are all avian targets being picked up by radar stations behind it. They appear centered only because the EM pulse rises as it moves away in all directions from the radar and most birds are flying a few to several thousand feet up. The hole in the middle is the cone of silence as the pulse does not go straight up and is sent out at a low altitude. In reality birds are flying everywhere in those...

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