nexrad watchers

[oilguy]

Any of you radar watchers notice what was going on at Glasgow, Minot and Bismarck this morning. The Saskachewan exodus appeared to be starting yesterday afternoon. Fargo and Winnipeg not showing much YET. Scouted Ottertail-Star-Dead area this morning Zilch

[Sko]

Interesting you would post this. I just logged on to say the same thing. There is a huge migration going on right now over Beulah and Bismarck areas of North Dakota. Panning to the west and east show other migrations, but not as strong. I could not believe what I was seeing, but if you look at the visible satellite of North Dakota, it is totally clear up there. I would guess these are geese headed towards the Missouri river and central South Dakota. Regardless, the push is now on. Here is the link I was using for anyone else who is interested.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/radar/loop/DS.p19r0/si.kmbx.shtml

[Guest]

so how do you determine whats a bird and what's rain or ground clutter?

[Sko]

Well, in this instance, Minots radar is turned onto precipitation mode. It is less sensitive, but still picking up something and the skys are clear. Pan over to Bismark's or Aberdeen's radar and they are in clear air mode. Clear air mode is much more sensitive and you call see a lot of clutter, but in the mess you can still see movement. Birds can show up in clear air mode white, purple, or blue in clear air mode. And in the case of today with Minot's radar, they are green and blue. Like I said, the sky up there is clear so they have to be waterfowl. I would have been less confident if there were clouds up there. Hope this makes sense.

[oilguy]

Ok, Here's the skinny. I'm a pilot and access the Nexrad stations via a subscription service. Not a problem because you can get the same free from intellicast.com and many other weather sites. Nexrad is high power doppler radar. It works somewhat like your fishing sonar unit, only using radio energy instead of sonic energy. Hence the caveat that the radar stations must be in "Clear Air" mode to see waterfowl migrations. When there is precipitation, the power at the stations is turned down to keep it usable for weather observations. To see waterfowl, use the Base Reflectivity Loop and look for strong returns, often red or white colored blips, generally moving with the prevailing wind and following known migration corridors. with some practice and good conditions it becomes very easy. I have seen large numbers of birds rising off refuges and moving to fields to feed many times. during a "push" don't be surprised if you can even see distinctive V shaped returns.

[Sko]

Hey oilguy, the Minot radar I was looking at was or is in precipitation mode. What are we seeing then or can precip pick up geese? I have to think the later based on what I am seeing. All the other surrounding sites have clear air on, but not Minot and that is where I saw the most activity.

[oilguy]

I wouldn't expect to see much in the Precip. mode. Looks like things moving south from Winnipeg for sure now. Problbly geese, seem to be heading into Thief Lake area

[Bryce]

I also have a pretty good training in this area - aviation degree with a minor in meteorology. I don't see anything conclusive there. Not saying it isn't happening because it can. I would bet that we're seeing cold air returns. If it's cold and dense enough to give a radar return like that, it is a good thing in and of itself. Be nice to get some eyeball reports.

[TV BOY]

And people though robo-duck was going too high tec. LOL

I guess I'll have to call Paul Douglas for the 5 day extended duck-cast....

Just kidding, very interesting posts!

[Sko]

Just checked some reports. There was a major push of birds yesterday. And in looking at the radar again, there are still movements. In fact, some major ones again. If you can get out this weekend, I think it should be pretty good.