Incredible bird migration -- in just one night!

[Greg Baehman]

Local television news, local newspapers along with our statewide newspaper the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that from 7:40pm Tuesday night Aug. 30th to 6:20am Wednesday morning Aug. 31st an incredible 48.4 million birds were migrating through Wisconsin, including 9.4 million through Wisconsin's Marathon County. These incredible numbers were aided by cloudy skies with brisk west and northwest winds making migration favorable for the birds. At its peak there were 557 million birds in flight at 9:20pm throughout the USA. All this was detected by BirdCast Radar.

Who'da thunk it?

[Bill Murphy]

Ruffed grouse, no doubt.

[Garry L Gordon]

Greg, it puts me in awe of the times in this country before bird populations declined.

[Phillip Carr]

Thank you for sharing. I was not aware of this website. Really cool. I had no idea .

[Stan Hillis]

Were these birds of all species combined?

[Greg Baehman]

Were these birds of all species combined?
Yes, as we slept that night there were literally millions of birds of all species passing by overhead, most at tree-top level, including the local broods of Baltimore Orioles we fed umpteen jars of jam all summer long...here today, gone tomorrow.

[Garry L Gordon]

Yes, as we slept that night there were literally millions of birds of all species passing by overhead, most at tree-top level, including the local broods of Baltimore Orioles we fed umpteen jars of jam all summer long...here today, gone tomorrow.

Bigger news (or at least of more, real consequence) than anything you see on CNN.

[Bob Brown]

Hope it doesn't foretell an early winter.

[Stan Hillis]

One of the amazing things about bird migrations, to me, is how hummingbirds, which seem to have to feed constantly at the feeders, can spend hours in the air flying without feeding, when migrating. They can traverse the Gulf of Mexico in one night. What amazing little creatures!