As the fall bird migration gets underway, bird watchers can track birds in flight across Michigan and the nation as they flock southward each night.

The BirdCast Migration Dashboard, a live migration map provided by Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, estimates the number of birds in flight each night, highlighting the largest groups, their paths and other information.

More than 2.7 million birds were in flight over Michigan Monday night, Aug. 25, according to the migration dashboard. Nationally, more than 26 million birds were in flight Aug. 25-26.

The Birdcast system uses radar because most species migrate at night, some at altitudes as high as 15,000 feet, and aren't visible to the naked eye.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology produces the maps with support from NASA, Edward W.

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