09/23/2026
For our highlight today, we're looking at the remarkable phenomenon that is fall bird migration! Things will be heating up in our region for migration in a couple days according to this map.
Every fall, millions upon millions of birds migrate to their wintering grounds following the end of their breeding season. Hard to believe? Maybe that's because the majority of these birds are migrating at night. It is believed that there are three main reason for nocturnal migration including less predator attacks (like hawks and falcons), the air is typically less turbulent at night, and the air is cooler. Map forecasts like this one are produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, University of Illinois, and Purdue University to predict how many birds will be on the move each night. For example, last night 636 million birds were migrating through the US just before midnight (see map), with 293 million predicted to be in flight tonight.
During peak migration times, it is important to limit the amount of light these birds are seeing at night, especially in cities. Every year it is estimated that at least 100 million, and possibly up to 1 billion, birds die each year migrating due to building collisions due to light pollution affecting their visual aids in migrating. You can help migrating birds by turning off all non-essential lights from 11pm until 6am and do not use landscape lights on trees or bushes where birds may be resting before continuing their journey.
Map citation: "Van Doren, B. M., and Horton, K. G. Year/s of migration forecast map image. BirdCast, migration forecast map; date and time (from forecast image lower right corner). University of Illinois, Purdue University, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. birdcast.org. 9/23/2026"
