Personally, I’ve found that Doppler Radar isn’t as useful in our region during the spring months. Spring migration seems more sporadic compared to fall migration, when birds tend to stage in larger groups. However, watching coastal Dopplers of TX, SE US & FL radars, you can see both spring mass arrivals & fall exodus. 

My best Doppler Radar findings for birds have been fall mass gatherings of mixed swallow species, mainly Rough-winged, Cliff & Bank by the thousands, gathering on power lines. The mass winter Bohemian Waxwing irruption, I described, & summer evening little brown bats flying over the Snake River. Given our spring storms, I don’t seem to find as many “biologics” on radar in our region as I do summer & fall.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Great question, Robert. Short answer is, yes. But, in our region, west of Continental Divide, it can be very hit or miss. Unlike, coastal areas of TX or Eastern Flyway, where radar can pick up literally millions of migrating bird congregations, the Rocky Mt Flyway is more sporadic. 

One of my hobbies is as a NWS weather spotter for my area. And, I’ve been able to locate sev large groups of birds via the Doppler Radar dome out of Springfield. Once, on a very clear winter AM, checked radar & it showed a large radar “cloud” down the road from me along the Snake River. I drove to the location & found literally thousands of Bohemian Waxwings picking through Russian Olive berries. 

So, you can use Doppler Radar to sometimes locate migrating birds & even, clusters of bats & river insect hatches. It’s enjoyable to bring up the NWS site for an area & watch the Doppler Radar map in real time. I try to “ground truth” “biologics” if the radar signal doesn’t match the actual weather, when I can. Hope this helps. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot