Over 5 Million Birds Crossed New York This Week Amid Peak Migration

Over 5 Million Birds Have Migrated Over New York This Week

On Wednesday night April 8th, 2026, Upstate New York Meteorologist Eric Snitil shared a graphic which look like it depicted rain across the state.

However, those pockets of what looked like rain on the radar were actually birds.

Snitil writes "BIRDS! Anyone pulling up local radar right now might be a tad confused as to why it appears to be raining on a clear night."

The meteorologist adds:

Those are birds, millions of them! They get detected by reflecting back a part of the radar beam in the same way rain or snow would. Our feathered friends are busy tonight!

On Thursday morning, Snitil shared that at the peak there were over "150 million birds were estimated to be in flight as favorable conditions allowed for a big night of bird migration."

He expects the next few nights to be "significant" when it comes to bird migration.

We took a look at the Bird Cast Migration Dashboard from Cornell Lab and learned that between April 7th and April 8th, 2026, over 5 million birds crossed New York.

Why New Yorkers Should Turn Off Their Outdoor Lights

Spring bird migration north begins in February and peaks between March and May. So it looks like we're in the thick of it now.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation implements the Lights Out initiative every spring to help birds on their migration journey.

The DEC asks residents to turn off "non-essential outdoor lighting" between the hours of 11 PM to 6 AM. According to the DEC peak bird migration runs from April 15th through May 31st for the spring.

They explain that turning the lights out "reduces light pollution that disorients and kills millions of migrating birds annually."

Learn more about the Lights Out initiative and New York bird migration on the DEC website. 

Hummingbirds on The Move: Heading to NY Early

As mentioned before, bird migration is starting a little earlier this year for most birds including hummingbirds.

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are known to make their migration north to New York towards the end of April. It looks like they are ahead of schedule for 2026.

Earlier this week Meteorologist Joe Rao shared the following graphic on social media of the current hummingbird migration.

Rao writes "Ruby-Throated Hummingbird spotted as far north as Missouri, to Virginia! A week or two ahead of schedule. They’ll be in the Lower Hudson Valley soon!"

READ MORE: They’re On the Way! Hummingbirds Heading Back to NY Early

As of April 9th, 2026 Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds were spotted as far north as Newark, New Jersey.