BIRMINGHAM, AL — An estimated 188,500 birds were detected in active flight over the Birmingham, Alabama metro area at 9:20 PM Saturday evening, according to Cornell University’s Birdcast Live migration traffic data. The massive bird movement, captured on dual-pol NEXRAD radar, shows thousands of birds traveling northward at 28 miles per hour at an altitude of approximately 3,300 feet, producing the distinctive blue circular radar signatures that blanketed live radar screens across the region Saturday night.
Dual Pol NEXRAD Radar Captures Thousands of Birds in Flight Over Central Alabama
Live radar imagery captured at 9:42 PM Saturday shows a broad and striking blue circular return centered over the Birmingham metro area and extending outward across surrounding counties including Tuscaloosa, Jasper, Cullman, Chelsea, Calera, and Clanton. The radar return, registering in the light to moderate range on reflectivity scales, is entirely composed of migrating birds rather than precipitation, with zero lightning recorded across the region confirming the absence of any storm activity producing these signatures…