Michigan’s native birds are arriving for the summer from near and far, but you might not notice as many travel at night.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers an easy way to follow their progress with its migration map. The radar data map and dashboard allow you to follow along to see what birds are flying overhead at night as they move to their summer feeding grounds.
“The movements are massive,” said Andrew Farnsworth, a migration ecologist at Cornell University who works with the university’s ornithology lab. “On a big night in the spring, you’re talking 450 to 500 million birds flying under cover of darkness.”
Here’s what to know.
More: Want to encourage pollinators to visit your garden? How you can attract Michigan’s bees
How can you track bird migration?
Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology hosts a BirdCast Migration Dashboard that provides daily summaries of radar-based nocturnal bird migration. With it, you can watch the progress of birds as they make their way across the nation and even track how many flew over your county the night before.
Live spring bird migration map on March 10, 2025, for birds migrating in the contiguous United States. The maps, updated daily, are produced by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University as part of their BirdCast project.
The system uses radar because most species migrate at night, some at altitudes as high as 15,000 feet, and aren’t visible to the naked eye.
Where are birds in Michigan?
Birds have been flying throughout Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, as of the map’s data for April 23-24. The migration dashboard shows about 440,000 birds flew over Michigan on April 24.
When is peak bird migration season?
In Michigan, peak spring bird migration runs approximately from March 1 to June 15, though some species migrate earlier or later, USA TODAY reported. Fall migration is generally between Aug. 1 and Nov. 30.
Peak migration is defined by the seasonal window during which about 50% of nighttime bird migration traffic passes through an area. On a map you can see a wave of peak migration move up from the southernmost United States to the far north as temperatures slowly rise over the course of the spring.
How do I know when birds are migrating through my area?
BirdCast provides live and local bird migration alerts throughout the continental U.S. by employing real-time analysis of bird migration traffic as detected by radar.
You can use the tool to determine whether birds are migrating in your area in low, medium, or high densities by entering your city in the search field on the website.
For Detroit, on April 24, there was no migration alert issued for the area. Migration density was listed as medium. Low-level migration is expected April 25 and April 26.
What types of birds summer in Michigan?
Here are some bird species you can find in Michigan this season, according to the American Bird Conservancy and Bird Watching HQ:
More: A 17-year cicada brood is set to emerge. Will Michigan hear the big-eyed insects?
How can you help birds migrate?
To aid birds as they migrate, ornithologists urge Americans to turn off nonessential lighting from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during peak migration periods. Bright lights can attract and disorient birds that migrate at night, potentially causing fatal collisions with buildings.
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Millions of birds are migrating at night. Radar captures their flights