Winds and Bird Migration
GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Tue, 30 Mar 1999 15:06:49 -0500
Howdy All!
Migration is an exciting time. Being a little bit of a weather junkie,
too, Spring represents a time of great volatility. Although I don't have
reams of scientific proof, I believe wind plays a large factor during
migration. One of my favorite sites is the _Hourly U.S. Weather
Statistics_ published by Penn State University, which can be found at:
http://www.ems.psu.edu/wx/usstats/uswxstats.html
In particular, I like the link to _Wind_. It is color-coded for wind
strength, has wind directional arrows, is updated frequently, and is easy
to read.
migrants pass through the Upper Coast of Texas and Louisiana. During April
and May, it is not unusual on occasion to see many tightly positioned
isobars pointing due North over this section of the country. It is not
difficult to imagine birds following the path of least resistance northward
on their trek to their breeding areas. I have often seen coinciding
reports on the Texas and Louisiana Birding Listservs that support this
theory, too.
Enjoy,
Greg Miller
Baltimore, MD