(4-24-25) According to a Facebook posting by Toledo Meteorologist Ross Ellet…tonight Ohio will see a large migration of birds flying into Ohio.

This warm pattern is also great for surges of migrating birds. It isn’t because of the warmth. It is because the winds that bring the warmth also push the birds right towards us. More than 270 million birds are projected to be in flight Thursday night across the country.

Computer models vary somewhat on the wind speed and direction for tomorrow night, but current numbers suggest 4 to 5 million birds could fly over the Buckeye state Thursday night.

Next Monday night into Tuesday morning could be even bigger. The weather maps right now essentially show a fast moving interstate for migrating birds from the Gulf right over Ohio.

According to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory

The Lake Erie shoreline in northwest Ohio is famed as one of the best birding areas in North America, especially during spring migration. 

April 16 – 30: First arrivals for many species, including Neotropical migrants like warblers, vireos, and orioles. Early warblers like Black-and-white, Palm, Nashville, and Black-throated Green are numerous by month’s end. In migrant traps along the lakeshore, this is the best time to find Pine and Orange-crowned Warblers, and a time when “southern” warblers like Worm-eating, Hooded, and Yellow-throated may appear. Typical migrants in this period include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and sparrows such as Swamp and White-throated. Herons, egrets, and rails have their main arrival here. Raptor migration features Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawks and Osprey. Shorebird variety and numbers continue to increase.