05/05/2025
Meteor gazing tonight? You should also be listening for migrating birds.
Spring migration is peaking across the Upper Midwest—and the sky is packed.
Thanks to calm wind, clear sky, and ideal temperatures, last night was one of the busiest bird migration nights of the season. Doppler radar picked up massive movements, and tonight’s forecast is even bigger—with 380 million birds expected to be in flight across the U.S., including some of the highest concentrations right over South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Here are some estimates from last night in our area:
South Dakota: Over 36 million birds crossed the state.
Iowa: More than 27 million.
Minnesota: Topped 20 million.
At peak times, 25 to 35 million birds were in the air over each state, cruising north-northwest at altitudes of 1,500 to 1,600 feet. These birds are headed to breeding grounds across Canada and the northern U.S.—and the weather gave them the all-clear to move.
If you want to dig deeper, there’s a Migration Dashboard on the BirdCast website. You can even break the data down by county. It’s pretty cool.
