Millions of birds are crossing Wake County as nearly half of migratory species decline

Millions of birds are quietly passing over Wake County this fall, making journeys that can stretch thousands of miles — largely while the people below them are asleep.

2026-09-21

BirdCast radar recently estimated that more than 5 million birds crossed Wake County in a single night, offering a glimpse of a massive migration unfolding above North Carolina.

It comes as a new global assessment raises concerns about the birds making those journeys. BirdLife International’s 2026 State of the World’s Birds report found that 45% of migratory bird species are declining and about one in nine is threatened with extinction.

“There is this absolutely amazing wildlife spectacle that’s going on all around us, above us every night,” said Phil Doerr, a retired N.C. State University wildlife biology professor who works with Wake Audubon Society’s Lights Out program.

An overnight migration highway

September is a busy month for migration in North Carolina, though different species move at different times through October and into November, according to John Gerwin, a research curator at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

Many are nocturnal migrants. Some fly for several nights before stopping to rest and refuel, Gerwin said.

The numbers can change dramatically from night to night, largely depending on weather.

Doerr said the recent night when about 5.2 million birds crossed Wake County followed a night with about 2.2 million. Other nights have seen only a few hundred thousand. Peak migration in the area generally occurs from mid-September into early October.

BirdCast uses weather radar to detect those movements and forecast when large numbers of birds are likely to take flight.

Nearly half of migratory bird species are declining

The new BirdLife International assessment found that 45% of migratory bird species worldwide have declining populations and 11% are threatened with extinction.

The report identifies habitat loss, intensive agriculture, unsustainable hunting, pollution, invasive species, and a warming climate among the threats.

For migrating birds, habitat loss can be especially consequential because they need places to stop, eat, and recover along journeys that can span continents.

“Sometimes I drive around, and I say, ‘Well, there’s another woodlot gone,’” Doerr said. “That’s a bit more bird habitat that is gone now.”

Research has also shown that individual birds can return to the same places year after year.

Gerwin described research tracking warblers from wintering grounds on Central American coffee farms to breeding grounds in Wisconsin and Minnesota. One Louisiana waterthrush was recaptured at the same small stream on a coffee farm repeatedly over several years.

“As we change the habitat more and more, it’s less habitat for some of these birds,” Gerwin said.

A simple way to help: Turn out the lights

Artificial light is one threat people can reduce immediately.

Many birds migrate at night using natural cues to navigate. Artificial lights can attract and disorient them, drawing them toward developed areas where they can become exhausted or collide with windows.

“That’s like a big beacon, you know, a lighthouse to these birds that are attracted to it for the wrong reason,” Gerwin said.

Wake Audubon has worked with the city of Raleigh to reduce unnecessary building lighting during migration periods. Homeowners can help by turning off lights they do not need, aiming outdoor lights downward, and using motion sensors instead of leaving lights on throughout the night.

Windows are another hazard. Reflections of trees and sky can appear to birds as open habitat. Gerwin said window treatments can make glass more visible, while native plants and shrubs can provide food and shelter for birds stopping to refuel.

Climate can alter the journey

A warming climate can also disrupt the timing of migration.

Gerwin said researchers are seeing some species return earlier during spring migration. That can create a potential mismatch if the insects and plants they rely on for food do not shift on the same schedule.

For now, fall migration is unfolding over Wake County night after night.

Birds typically begin taking off about an hour after sunset, Doerr said. They may travel 100 miles or more before descending to find food and shelter for the next leg of the journey.

Then, the next night, they do it all over again.