Total birds

592200 Birds crossed South Dakota this night (est.)

Starting: Wed, Jun 14, 2023, 9:30 PM CDT

Ending: Thu, Jun 15, 2023, 5:50 AM CDT

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Peak migration traffic

1,782,200 Birds in flight (est.)
Direction: NW
Speed: 23 mph
Altitude: 700 ft
Recorded: Wed, Jun 14, 2023, 10:20 PM CDT
Not all birds may fully cross a region in one night, resulting in a greater number of birds in flight than total birds crossed.

Here's what happened across this night...

Birds in flight

Night of Jun 14, 2023
Historic
10 PM CDT11 PM12 AM1 AM2 AM3 AM4 AM5 AM01.8M

Birds usually begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later.

Flight direction and speed

10 PM CDT11 PM12 AM1 AM2 AM3 AM4 AM5 AM026 mph

Birds tend to migrate northward in spring, but seasonal timing, weather, and geography alter their flight directions and speeds.

Altitude

Night of Jun 14, 2023
Historic
10 PM CDT11 PM12 AM1 AM2 AM3 AM4 AM5 AM03000 ft

Migrating birds regularly fly up to 10,000 feet above ground, although seasonal timing and weather conditions dramatically impact their distributions.

Note: Direction, speed, and altitude may be unreliable when the number of birds in flight is low. In such cases, chart data may include gaps.

And across this season...

Birds in flight (nightly avg.)

Spring 2023
Historic
MarAprMayJun026M

During spring migration, most birds pass through the contiguous U.S. from mid-April to mid-May.

Total birds crossed

Spring 2023
Historic
MarAprMayJun0500M

This is the estimated total number of birds that have fully crossed this region. The curve rises quickly during peak migration and levels off at the end of the season.

Expected nocturnal migrants

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Nocturnally migrating species most likely to arrive or depart this region at this time of year, based on frequency of observations

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Colorado State University
UMass Amherst