[texbirds-freelists] [texbirds] NEXRAD radar observations of migrating birds in the western Gulf coast region; 4/5
- From: John Arvin <jarvin@xxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2012 12:34:00 -0500
Those all-important winds (by the way, a couple of days ago I recommended a
wind map website but somehow the URL got expunged from the message. It is
<http://hint.fm/wind/>) are fairly light (all less than 20 kt.) and are SW
Becoming NW east of Houston. Earlier they were all SW and the wind map was
beautifully showing a current of west winds all across the Gulf states to
the Atlantic.
NEXRAD displays show bird departures toward the east at all stations,
including the two South Texas stations where departures eastward take them
into a semi-trans-Gulf migration that could come ashore later today from
Houston eastward. Likely it involves the trans-Gulf migrants reported from
South Padre Island and the Corpus Christi-Port Aransas area yesterday
afternoon. Otherwise it looks like a circum-Gulf migration for today
possibly including some western species wind-drifted eastward. This
scenario brings species like Western Tanager and Clay-colored Sparrow east
of their expected migration pathways.
The extended forecast looks dismal in terms of fallout conditions for the
next week or so. A weak, dry front arrives tomorrow that will only
reinforce conditions that exist today. However, weather forecasts, while
helpful, are not always accurate predictors of bird behavior so we shall
see what the weekend at least, brings.
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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