Migrating birds are passing over Michigan - Here's how to track them
Bird migration patterns can be tracked live through the BirdCast map.
According to data from the BirdCast dashboard estimates, nearly 49 million birds have already crossed Michigan during this year's migration.
People are asked to turn off non-essential lights at night to help limit migrating bird collisions.
(FOX 2) - As birds continue to migrate this spring, you can track their journey live.
Created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdCast offers real-time predictions about when and where birds will be migrating over certain areas at night. This is done by using the U.S. weather surveillance radar network between sunset and sunrise to track bird patterns.
According to the migration dashboard, approximately 992,100 birds crossed Michigan between 8:50 p.m. May 4 and 6:20 a.m. May 5, with more birds continually flying over the state. According to data from the BirdCast dashboard estimates, nearly 49 million birds have already crossed Michigan during this year's migration.
Current precautions show that Monday night will have a low intensity of birds flying over the Detroit area, while Tuesday is predicted to be medium - meaning that between 6,000 and 10,000 birds are expected per kilometer per night.
In addition to the number of birds passing overhead, the BirdCast dashboard tracks the direction and speed birds are traveling, and the altitude of these animals.
Find the live migration maps here.
What you can do
Migrating birds tend to begin migrating 30-45 minutes after sunset and continue through the night, with the greatest influx of birds typically in flight two to three hours after that.
Since birds travel at night, they can become disoriented by light pollution, leading to potential collisions with buildings. To help limit these occurrences, shut non-essential lights off between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The Source
This information is from the Cornell Lab.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Flash flood warning in St. Louis; flooding now after heavy rain
UPDATE: Flash Flood Warning including Saint Louis City, Madison and St. Clair counties through 6:30 p.m. Avoid flooded areas in path of warning. ST. LOUIS – Flash flooding has emerged around the St. Louis region after heavy rain Tuesday afternoon. FOX 2 has learned about flash flooding concerns around various streets in north and south St. Louis City. There are also some concerns near Downtown St. Louis and in the Metro East right across state lines. Flash flooding concerns arrived after a storm system intensified and brought heavy rain around 2 p.m. Tuesday. It's estimated around 2-3 inches fell in some parts of St. Louis within the span of an hour. MoDOT's Gateway Guide cameras have detected flash flooding around I-55 near Lafayette Avenue, Missouri Route 100 near Jefferson Avenue and I-70 at McKinley Bridge among other places. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here The storm system is moving east, but flash flood concerns may persist for some time. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes and avoid flooded areas where possible. Some afternoon traffic delays could emerge as well. Right now, there is a flood advisory in effect for the following counties: St. Louis City, St. Louis and St. Charles (Missouri) Madison, St. Clair (Illinois) through 6 p.m. Tuesday. A flood advisory generally means minor to moderate flooding in low-lying or poor drainage areas. Developing story… Check back for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Retired NWS forecaster shares thoughts on Texas tragedy
ST. LOUIS – The flash floods that struck Texas on the Fourth of July weekend have prompted tough questions about weather alerts and public safety. Alan Gerard, a retired National Weather Service meteorologist and owner of joined FOX 2 meteorologist Chris Higgins on Weather Extra and discussed how weather officials issued both watches and warnings well in advance of the deadly flooding. 'For the most part, the watches and warnings are about what people should be expecting from the weather service for this kind of an event,' Gerard said. The National Weather Service posted a flash flood watch nearly 12 hours before rainfall began and issued a warning just after 1 a.m. on July 4, using strong language that activated wireless emergency alerts. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Despite the timely alerts, not everyone received or acted on them, raising important questions about how the public interprets and responds to warnings. 'There's all these kinds of issues that aren't about the meteorology but are about how the rubber hits the road,' Gerard said. Gerard highlighted the growing need for social science research to better understand human behavior during emergencies. He also expressed concern about proposed federal budget cuts that could significantly impact NOAA's research capabilities, including vital work done at the National Weather Center in Oklahoma. 'I would hate to see us going in the opposite direction,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
National Geographic
08-07-2025
- National Geographic
These flamboyant birds are the 17,000th species to enter Nat Geo's Photo Ark
Stunning photos of birds of paradise show evolution at its most extravagant. A growling riflebird, a type of bird of paradise, seen at Port Moresby Nature Park in Papua New Guinea. Photographs by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark Birds-of-paradise have captivated the planet with their elaborate plumage and idiosyncratic mating dances. Some species appear to shape-shift as they elongate plumes of feathers, fan their wings, or even hang upside down from a tree branch like a bat. There are about 40 species in the birds-of-paradise family, and all are native to either Papua New Guinea, its surrounding islands, or Australia. 'They're like no other birds on earth,' says Joel Sartore, National Geographic Explorer, photographer, and creator of Photo Ark. Since 2006, Sartore has been traveling the globe in a bid to document as many species as humanly possible. And as of this writing, he has approached a number that once seemed unthinkable—17,000 species lovingly coaxed into posing for his camera. Usually, Sartore and his team select one species to highlight as the milestone, but with birds-of-paradise, he says, 'It was just impossible for us to choose.' Recently returned from a trip to Port Moresby, Sartore tried to convey what it was like to sit in the presence of so many of these flamboyantly feathered creatures. 'Everything was interesting to me,' says Sartore. 'They were really calm, all of them, and usually if a bird's calm in my tent, they're pretty smart.' He recalled one bird-of-paradise in particular—an iridescent turquoise and purple bird known as the trumpet manucode (Phonygammus keraudrenii mayrii)—that stared right back at him with its huge, cherry-red eyeball. 'He's seeing himself in the reflection of the light lens filter,' explains Sartore. This is one of the goals of every shoot Sartore does with his simple backgrounds and closeup approach: 'We go with the black-and-white backgrounds to eliminate all distractions and look animals in the eye. It also gives all animals an equal voice, because there's no size comparison,' he says. 'This little king bird-of-paradise,' says Sartore of a bright-red species only slightly larger than a dollar bill, 'he's as big as an elephant.' A trumpet manucode, Phonygammus keraudrenii mayrii, photographed at Port Moresby Nature Park. Looking across the assortment of birds featured here, you'll notice that each species is vastly different from the others, either in color, shape, or feather arrangement. And when these males start to strut for the local females, you'll see that each species also has its own way of wooing the opposite sex. So how did all these closely related birds become so strikingly different? 'Evolution by sexual selection has 'permitted' the evolution of extravagant feathers and behaviors because the fruit they eat is abundant, and the predators that often counterbalance extravagant evolution are absent,' says Edwin Scholes, an ornithologist, and founder and leader of the Cornell Lab's Birds-of-Paradise Project. Interestingly, while it's the male birds and their fancy feathers we tend to focus upon, it's the female birds-of-paradise that are doing the choosing—which means they're the ones actually responsible for the evolution of such extraordinary traits. Habitat and geography also play a role, of course. 'Birds-of-paradise are sedentary forest dwellers and don't disperse or migrate long distances, so even a lowland river valley is a barrier to a montane species. And none fly over open water to islands,' says Scholes. Separated from each other and unencumbered by predators, birds-of-paradise have been free to break off into ever more enchanting species. Some have incredibly oversized features, such as the ribbon-tailed astrapia, which has tailfeathers three times as long as its body. Others, such as the superb bird of paradise, can make their feathers click while dancing. And the growling riflebird? It's known for its, well, growl—something you definitely don't hear every day from a bird. One species, the lesser superb bird-of-paradise, has even been shown to sport feathers that absorb around 99.95 percent of all visible light—a quality scientists call ultrablack or superblack. Add it all up, and Scholes says birds-of-paradise are 'some of the most beautiful, bizarre, and diverse [birds] on the planet.' The good news for these fantastic birds is that they are doing better than many other species found in the Photo Ark. 'Thankfully, no species are currently in the critically endangered category,' says Scholes, though he admits some need more thorough assessment. While none of the species shown here are considered endangered, around one-fifth of all birds-of-paradise species are listed as either vulnerable or near threatened. 'The species that are most at risk or most vulnerable are those that are found only on relatively small islands just offshore from mainland New Guinea, and some that are found at the higher elevations of isolated mountain ranges,' says Scholes. Overall, Sartore says he hopes the images in the Photo Ark will remind people that there is so much life on this planet worth saving. 'We'll go wherever we can to just show people what life was all about and hopefully it makes a difference,' he says. 'That's kind of the whole point—just get people's attention, get them to think about something other than politics and sports for a little bit.' 'And that as these species go away,' says Sartore, 'so could we.'
