Follow Massachusetts Fall Bird Migration With Online Dashboard

It seems you wake up one day to a neighborhood of songbirds who've made their way north to enjoy the spring and summer months. Yesterday, there was silence and today, the air is full of birds feathering their nests and chirping at the top of their little birdie lungs.

The reverse occurs when the days begin to shorten. One day, the bird chorus that serenaded you all summer is gone. They've taken the show on the road.

When did it happen?

Get our free mobile app

If you think the bird exodus seemed sudden, you are right. Our feather friends launch for greener pastures in large groups, without much warning and under cover of darkness.

Mass Audubon says, "Except for unusually loquacious species such as mockingbirds, bird song essentially ceases by late summer." Audubon says, "Weather during the fall migration period is another factor that determines which birds will winter in Massachusetts."

While many of the birds that summer in Massachusetts hang out during the day, they are often night owls when migration is concerned.

Bird Cast says, "Birds usually begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later."

They fly at night. That explains why you wake up one day and they are gone.

Bird Cast says, "Migrating birds regularly fly up to 10,000 feet above the ground, although seasonal timing and weather conditions dramatically impact their distributions."

The Bird Cast website has a "migration dashboard" that tracks the migration daily providing numbers of birds, travel direction and speed and altitude, among other information.

It is fascinating.