That's Not Rain On The Radar, It's Birds!

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The annual migration of thousands of birds has begun and it was captured on radar.

From KDKA-TV Meteorologist Ron Smiley:

Here's something cool that you don't see every day.

The radar loop this morning captured migrating birds over two separate lakes in Ohio. It was something that a viewer brought to my attention last week and it continues to happen every morning starting just after sunrise.

According to Bird Watchers Digest (yes, it's exists): "An impressive 47 species of sandpipers, plovers, godwits, and other shorebirds have been spotted along Lake Erie, and August brings peak diversity. The astute observer will note that most shorebirds are adults this time of year; they leave the northern breeding grounds first, leaving the young to fend for themselves. The juveniles pass through about a month after the adults. Mudflat-watching is easy birding, in the sense that the birder doesn't have to move around much and the birds are often nicely arrayed right out in front, making for easy study. However, many birders regard shorebirds as one of the trickier groups of birds to learn, and having a good spotting scope is extremely helpful for studying their finer points."

In this case these birds were caught leaving Atwood Lake just east of New Philadelphia along with Berlin Lake just east of Akron.

Hopefully all the birds have safe travels as many of them head to South America.