Huge numbers of birds are migrating over Sacramento each night. How to track them

Far in the night skies over Sacramento, hundreds of thousands of birds are on the move.

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It’s autumn, and that means it’s migration season for millions of birds. “Tonight, more than 330,000 birds are predicted to fly over Sacramento as they make their seasonal journeys south,” posted the Wildlife Care Association of Sacramento on Sept. 23. “From songbirds to raptors and everything in between, fall migration is one of the most incredible wildlife spectacles happening right over our heads.”

Sacramento lies along the Pacific Flyway, a bird migration route that stretches from Alaska to the southernmost part of South America. More than one billion birds migrate through the Sacramento area annually, according to the Sacramento Bird Alliance website. In the fall, raptors, songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl stop in local wetlands and grasslands to refuel or spend the winter.

How to see and track migrating birds

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdCast website uses weather radar to estimate migratory bird numbers and movement.

BirdCast shows the massive number of birds nocturnally migrating over Sacramento County every night in the autumn, along with a dashboard that gives live updates after sunset. On the night of Friday, Sept. 18, for example, the tracker estimated that 1,028,500 birds crossed Sacramento County in one night.

Migrating birds can be seen in many of the parks, waterways, and nature preserves around Sacramento. The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge even has a webcam feed.

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The Sacramento Bird Alliance also has a long list of local parks, recreation areas, and sanctuaries that make for especially good bird-watching in the fall.

The Cosumnes River Preserve will be celebrating World Migratory Bird Day on Oct. 10. From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Preserve will offer kid’s crafts activities, guided walks, and a special sandhill crane tour. Registration is required for the walks and tours.

How to help birds migrating through Sacramento

Bird populations have been heavily impacted by climate change and habitat loss. Organizations such as the Sacramento Bird Alliance, the Nature Conservancy, and others are teaming up to help, with programs such as BirdReturns creating seasonal habitats that can support shorebirds.

According to the Wildlife Care Association of Sacramento, there are a few things everyone can do to help birds safely along their migratory routes:

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• Dim or extinguish unnecessary outdoor lights at night, which can confuse and disorient birds in flight. Keep curtains drawn at night when you have lights on indoors as well.
• Keep cats indoors, as cats are one of the biggest dangers to wild birds.
• Bird-proof your windows. Up to a billion birds die each year in the U.S. from striking glass windows, because they mistake reflective windows for more sky. Cornell has a detailed guide on making windows safe for birds.
• Later this year, consider joining the Christmas Bird Count. The tradition, with more than a century of history, helps gather data about bird movements and numbers.