Weather & Tides

Birds have to negotiate whatever the weather conditions are. Mostly, they can’t fight those conditions and have to find ways of surviving them. Storms do displace birds, some by hundreds or even thousands of miles. And, of course, this is where birders can encounter vagrants from across oceans. Part of the great fun of birding but not so great for the birds themselves. Slow weather systems can be avoided and birds often do move away from cold fronts in order to be in places where food is more easily sourced. Where it’s not possible, they have to live within those conditions. Much harder to avoid are sudden changes in the weather. This can result in many birds dying in sudden freezes or finding it impossible to find food in floods.

During migration, birders experience what are called ‘falls’ during those times when weather forces traveling birds down to the ground or at least the treetops. Again, good news for birders, but bad news for the birds themselves. It’s okay if that forced stop is on land, but sometimes this happens at sea and birds perish there. Spring falls are often great fun for the birder where many different species can be seen out of their normal locations and often in great variety. Temporarily stranded birds feed up and move on when the weather allows.

Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea – ©Dubi Shapiro

Tired migrants battling strong winds may well not survive the entire journey and often prove to be quarry for other birds. I’ve witnessed swallows over the sea, low to the ocean, being picked off by gulls as they are too exhausted to escape. It’s not weather per se, but extremes of weather that are such bad news for birds. If change is slow, even quite harsh conditions are much more survivable, as birds, like many creatures, can be very adaptable.

Many of us birders love to watch the sea, especially when there are movements of birds. Bad weather, such as low fog, rain and high winds can force birds closer to the coast, making it much easier to see birds that would otherwise only be available to the birder on a pelagic trip.

Decisions about when and where to bird are often made based on weather conditions. Sunny weather in spring may well herald the arrival of many species. Icy conditions to the north may force birds south to our patch. Storms at sea can wreck seabirds on land or push them onto inland waters for the birder to get up close and personal with. Whatever birds we seek, at whatever time of year, watching the weather is always crucial.

Equally crucial is the state of the tide. If we want to see waders on mudflats, state of the tide needs to be such that they are pushed closer to us, not further away. And often the best time is the hour or two before high tide when feeding birds move closer to the shoreline and birders. At high tide, many birds will roost because they can no longer feed in their ideal conditions. And those roosts may well be a place to see unusual birds among the commoner ones. It can be very frustrating to find oneself at an ideal birding location when the tide is so low that the birds are too distant to identify even with a scope, especially when there is heat to create a haze making viewing even more difficult.

Any birder worth their salt is going to look at the weather forecast and the tide tables when they’re planning their next outing, no matter where they intend to go birding.