1
Screen tonight’s setup
Wind direction and precipitation tell us whether a region has supportive movement, holding, or possible grounding conditions.
Tonight’s Michigan pulse
Reading Michigan conditions…
Combining regional NWS wind/precipitation signals with recent eBird reporting. BirdCast remains the radar confirmation layer.
The decision flow
From tonight’s sky to tomorrow’s field stop
Use the layers in this order. That keeps weather context, real observations, and radar evidence from being confused with one another.
2
Choose tomorrow’s habitat
Recent county observations tell us whether birds are already being found near the places you might drive to at dawn.
3
Verify before you go
Open BirdCast for radar evidence, then the county/species pages for the latest local reports and exact birds.
Tomorrow morning
Where should I bird in Michigan?
Six focal migration corridors. No mystery score: every recommendation shows the weather signal and recent reporting behind it.
Tap a card or map marker to compare regions.
Map locations are regional planning anchors, not individual bird locations.
Loading six Michigan migration corridors…
Seasonal wave
What could be moving through Michigan now?
These are broad seasonal groups, not a claim that a particular species migrated last night. Use the live sightings below for what has actually been reported.
Loading seasonal migration groups…
Ground truth
What Michigan birders are reporting
Recent statewide notable eBird observations. Tap a species to open its Michigan profile and current sighting map.
Loading recent notable sightings…
Know what each layer means
Three sources. Three different jobs.
National Weather Service
Wind and precipitation are a movement setup signal. They do not prove birds flew over a region.
eBird
Recent observations show what people have actually reported on the ground. Reporting effort varies by place and day.
BirdCast
Use the official Michigan dashboard to confirm radar-detected nocturnal migration and migration forecasts. This site does not scrape BirdCast.
One product, two peak seasons
Michigan spring and fall migration
The same page changes with the migration season, so this URL can build authority year after year instead of splitting spring and fall into competing pages.
Spring: March 1–June 15
Northbound migration builds from waterfowl and blackbirds into sparrows, shorebirds, warblers, vireos, thrushes, and flycatchers. Southerly winds are often the supportive directional signal.
Fall: August 1–November 15
Southbound migration progresses from shorebirds and early songbirds into warblers, vireos, thrushes, raptors, sparrows, kinglets, cranes, and waterfowl. Northerly winds are often the supportive directional signal.
Method
How Michigan Migration Today makes a recommendation
The regional outlook combines National Weather Service forecasts with the count and recency of eBird species reports in each focal county. Favorable directional wind can strengthen a movement setup; rain may create a grounding watch; recent observations strengthen the case that a region is worth checking. Those are planning signals only. Radar-detected migration is verified on BirdCast, and local presence is verified through eBird and this site's county/species pages.