There’s a White-eyed Vireo still singing in the garden and two Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds still visiting our nectar feeder. They will soon be on their way, flying overnight with millions of other summer visitors observing the shorter days and cooler temperatures.
Last Sunday, September 14, Doppler radar for BirdCast recorded 526,500 birds crossing our James City County boundaries, from soon after sunset until the wink of dawn. Their numbers peaked at 4.00 AM as they flew SSW at 32 mph on average and at about 1000 feet elevation. A third as many crossed on Monday night, and only an intrepid 2,300 last night, in stormy weather.
From ground observations in the past, we expect the following species migrating, and are perhaps overhead even as I write: American Redstart, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Northern Parula, Summer Tanager, Caspian Tern, Green Heron, Hooded Warbler, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Palm Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.
Roger musing about Peace with Nature 
That is astonishing – to think: more than half a million birds flew on their mission high overhead in one evening! It boggles my mind somewhat to learn what is going on above in the darkness…
I can’t find equivalent available data for birds migrating here, except for a mention of a preliminary study on the east coast of Australia which shows different patterns from those seen in Europe and North America (more daytime migration here). It’s suggested such data may help inform planning future green energy solutions such as wind farms to avoid disrupting migration patterns of endangered species, if species-specific data can be obtained from citizen scientists.
LikeLike