Tip of the Month
Weather Patterns Effect Birding
Besides the obvious fact that the weather determines what you need to wear when you head out to go birding, it also affects what birds you will be seeing. We all know that both spring and fall migration are great times to go birding, but how do you know when one day during migration will be better than another? While this information does not hold true every time, it is a good guideline to follow.
Wind drives migration. In the spring, a strong wind out of the south will help those little migrants make much better time to their breeding grounds, and these guys need all the help they can get. The opposite is true in the fall when a strong wind from the north will push the migrants south. When you have consecutive days with winds from the south in the spring or north in the fall, you can expect to have a large turnover in birds each day. Be sure to be out birding each day during this time - you never know what might turn up!
The weather patterns are also very important when you are birding at the Great Lakes or on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. On the Great Lakes, the direction and speed of the wind will determine whether or not you will find any rarities. Storms out in the middle of the lakes also tend to push rare species such as jaegers towards the shore. On the Atlantic coasts, hurricanes have a large impact on birds. Not only can they push seabirds to the coast, they can also push them well inland. If you happen to be in the path of the storms from a strong hurricane after it makes landfall, be sure to go birding right after the storm passes. These storms are known to push tropical seabirds into states such as Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee, among many others.
If you have any question about how weather patterns effect birding, please email me at robert.ripma@nuttybirder.com.