This cool website showcases the spectacle of bird migration in real time
The BirdCast website is a fabulous tool that applies weather surveillance radar to gather information on the numbers, flight directions, speeds and altitudes of birds aloft in order to expand the understanding of migratory bird movement.
According to BirdCast.info, "...when BirdCast began, much like many conceptual frameworks in the early years of big data analysis and Internet and crowdsourcing, its potential and realities were far ahead of their time. But there was a strong belief and understanding that knowledge of migratory behavior would inspire birders and scientists as well as support decisions about conservation actions on the ground to mitigate numerous hazards birds face and to prevent deaths of millions of birds annually.
Accurate migration models could have broad appeal and even broader application, allowing researchers to understand behavioral aspects of migration, how migration timing and pathways respond to changing climate, and whether linkages exist between variation in migration timing and subsequent changes in population size.
Beginning in 2018 the BirdCast site began to feature migration forecasts that predicted how many birds would be aloft over the continental US and live migration maps that reported how many birds actually took flight."
See real-time data about birds that crossed Douglas County last night (est.), birds in flight (nightly average), flight direction and speed, expected nocturnal migrants, and more! Click here.
Thanks to BHGC member Julie Evans for telling us about this!
According to BirdCast.info, "...when BirdCast began, much like many conceptual frameworks in the early years of big data analysis and Internet and crowdsourcing, its potential and realities were far ahead of their time. But there was a strong belief and understanding that knowledge of migratory behavior would inspire birders and scientists as well as support decisions about conservation actions on the ground to mitigate numerous hazards birds face and to prevent deaths of millions of birds annually.
Accurate migration models could have broad appeal and even broader application, allowing researchers to understand behavioral aspects of migration, how migration timing and pathways respond to changing climate, and whether linkages exist between variation in migration timing and subsequent changes in population size.
Beginning in 2018 the BirdCast site began to feature migration forecasts that predicted how many birds would be aloft over the continental US and live migration maps that reported how many birds actually took flight."
See real-time data about birds that crossed Douglas County last night (est.), birds in flight (nightly average), flight direction and speed, expected nocturnal migrants, and more! Click here.
Thanks to BHGC member Julie Evans for telling us about this!
Help migrating birds by keeping your outdoor lights off from dusk until dawn to help nighttime migrating birds.