Morning Highways in the Sky: A Primer on the Longshore Flight During IDBF

Birding at the observation tower at Indiana Dunes State Park is different than other styles of birding. It’s very much more akin to fishing, sitting, waiting, except we don’t have lures. So in that respect, we’re more like lumbering brown bears waiting on salmon to swim by. But in this stream of bird migration, Lake Michigan is a massive head dam, squeezing migrating birds against the shoreline, and the Longshore Tower at Indiana Dunes State Park sits right where the avian traffic jam happens. On a solid May morning it feels like Midwestern rush hour, only the commuters have feathers and zero patience for speed limits.

It’s Indiana Dunes Birding Festival week and and we couldn’t ask for a better forecast to observe the wonders of morning flight from the observation tower. Above all, timing is everything! If you’re wanting to see the best of the bet, here’s our tips:

• Be on the tower before sunrise—seriously. Migration ignites at first light and the numbers drop by roughly half every 30 minutes. Show up at 8a.m. and you’ve already missed the opening act, the next act, and the headline act!
• South or southwest winds are the secret sauce. The stronger they blow overnight and into dawn, the heavier the longshore traffic the next morning. If the forecast shows a stiff south wind after midnight, set an extra alarm. If the winds swing to the north, all bets are off and go bird somewhere else.
• Arrive super early and you’ll get a bonus pre‑show: American Woodcocks “peent” in the darkness and Eastern Whip‑poor‑wills from the dunes before the kingbirds and Blue Jays hit the highway.

The weather looks good nearly every day of the festival except for Sunday right now. North winds will shift Saturday mid-day, so a little shift could shut down Saturday’s flight, but with some amazing migration forecasted Thurs and Fri nights, we should have some amazing morning flights for both Friday and Saturday if you’re scheduled to be up there with the Red Hill Birding crew.

If you’d like to see more information on the May Longshore Report, including the 7 checklists thus far totaling 130 species, visit here: Indiana Dunes May Longshore eBird Trip Report.

Counting birds from the Longshore Tower is equal parts science and spectacle. Whether you’re logging 7,000 Blue Jays or chasing a single Mississippi Kite, every click helps paint a clearer picture of migration along Lake Michigan. Swing by during the festival, lend your eyes, and let’s see what rolls over the dunes together. Let’s see what we can add to it this week!