[texbirds-freelists] [texbirds] NEXRAD radar observations of migrating birds in the western Gulf coast region; 4/29
- From: John Arvin <jarvin@xxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:32:01 -0500
Today marks the anniversary of the most incredible ornithological
experience of my life - an incredible all-night flight of migrating birds
at a petroleum platform 80 miles offshore from Vermilion Parish, LA.
Between 20:00 (8 p.m.) until dawn I and a "closet birder" hand on the
platform were in the midst of hundreds of thousands of trans-Gulf migrants,
all from just above eye-level (on an 80 ft. deck) down to near water level.
The weather was benign with light N winds (<10 kt.). My companion had
worked the platform for 15 years and declared that he had never seen such a
phenomenon in his working career.
So, today sticks in my mind as the pinnacle of spring migration.
Unfortunately I don't see that experience repeated either on shore or at
sea today. The relatively strong S winds (especially at Brownsville and
Corpus Christi) are providing a conveyer belt to trans-Gulf migrants to
carry them far inland before landing. It is like a broken record. Yes,
there will be local "hot spots" along the coast that receive a variety (if
not numbers) of migrants, but most will not. I, like you, are seeking
solace in the long range forecast, but I am not finding much.
John C. Arvin
Research Associate
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
103 West Hwy 332
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
jarvin@xxxxxxxx
www.gcbo.org
Austin, Texas
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