Cobirders, The northern portion of the state is in for some wild snow amounts (depending on who you believe). With this, we are looking at some very nice swaths of southerly winds (example below): https://earth.nullschool.net/#2021/03/13/0100Z/wind/isobaric/850hPa/orthographic=-101.05,33.15,1638/loc=-105.000,40.000 (forecast for 6pm tonight; green circle is around Boulder, CO). That link should also be about the time that we should expect migrants to be taking off from Texas and further south. For those of you who are radar enthusiasts for bird tracking, check the radar <https://weather.cod.edu/satrad/?parms=continental-conus-comp_radar-48-0-100-1&checked=map&colorbar=undefined> after dark in Texas to see if the birds are leaving as suggested.
On those winds, I expect to see some migrants push further northward as this is one of those times where birds are starting to want to move north and this IS a good opportunity despite the snow we will get this far north. This is a time to be efficient and cover some ground/sky. I expect to see increases and FOYs in: - Blue-winged Teals, - Eared and Horned Grebes (maybe the beginnings of Western Grebes), - yellowlegs (Greater) and Killdeer with maybe some early sandpipers, - Sandhill Cranes, - Bonaparte's and Franklin's Gulls, - Double-crested Cormorants, - Turkey Vultures and possibly the first migrant Osprey and/or Swainson's Hawks, - White-throated Swifts, Tree Swallows, and Barn Swallows - Say's Phoebes, - and Common Grackles. If you want to see a really good swath of winds converging into a single location, look no further than this map: https://earth.nullschool.net/#2021/03/13/1500Z/wind/isobaric/850hPa/orthographic=-101.05,33.15,1638/loc=-105.000,40.000 . Looks like in the vicinity of Boulder, CO will be a nice hotspot tomorrow morning. As the day goes on the convergence into Boulder disperses and more of the northern Urban corridor will get in on the action: https://earth.nullschool.net/#2021/03/14/0100Z/wind/isobaric/850hPa/orthographic=-101.05,33.15,1638/loc=-105.000,40.000 (5pm Saturday) I'll leave it here for now and see what others are able to find as the days roll onward. I am headed out here in a minute to get my binocs on some of these migrants before the snow starts. Best of luck out there. Keep your feeders full, be careful shoveling (if you are the lucky ones who are getting snow), keep your ears peeled for Sandhills in the snow, and wear your masks, Bryan Bryan Guarente Meteorologist/Instructional Designer UCAR/The COMET Program Boulder, CO -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAENnWHs2b2kRT9pAgdV2MuKCMY6mQd60%3DUssULF3hEmu8u2k4A%40mail.gmail.com.
