Where do the birds go?

As a child living in the country, I often wondered where the birds went during a prolonged downpour. Much later, especially after spending a lot of time in Florida, where there are destructive hurricanes, I wondered not just where they went, but also how such a small, light creature, so exposed to the elements, survived such fierce attacks from the weather.

The answers vary because, just like us, different birds do and go to different things different Places during a hurricane.

If you are a bird And Living within hurricane range broad The wind has been circling at devastating speeds of 140 miles per hour since you could fly, perhaps your favorite place to be to be would be above the storm.

Of course, very few birds are able to do this, and still, There are a few birds that can actually do this.

Some shorebirds are known for this Use the hurricane winds to your advantage to escape. Some have been found as far as 150 miles inland after a major hurricane.

The frigate birds and eagles can “floating above the storm,” as they say. some birds, as difficult As you can imagine, you fly through the storm and then some these birds can’t do it. The eagle, for example, “uses the strong winds and updrafts to its advantage, allowing it to fly higher and farther than most other birds.”

So while the eagles and frigatebirds soar high above the storm, the smaller birds, shorebirds and “neighborhood birds,” as I like to call them, have unique solutions to dealing with hurricanes.

When you imagine how vulnerable the smaller birds are when caught in a violent storm, the 1990s country love song comes to mind: “Two sparrows in one hurricane“by Country Music Hall of Fame singer Tanya Tucker.

Luckily for her and for As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology explains, birds have instincts that allow them to sense an approaching storm by detecting changes in air pressure and acting as a “built-in barometer.” These unique creatures can also detect other environmental stimuli, such as changes in wind direction, temperature and humidity of which is permitted urges them to take action before the storm comes.

I was recently in Florida during a major hurricane and watched Small groups of sparrows appear to become nervously, flew in circles around the building and yard, disappeared into the bushes for a few moments and then suddenly reappeared before flying away again around the corner of the building.

This small Birds was apparently frightened of what could only be the approaching hurricane. I watch the news so me know when a hurricane approaches, but the birds don’t watch TV.

A hurricane forms a low pressure area around itself can be felt several hundred miles away. This is good news for the birds because a hurricane can severely impact a bird’s daily life. It can destroy an active nest and flood the ground-level nesting sites of shorebirds. Hurricanes can destroy food sources and even destroy habitats by cutting down trees, altering shorelines and flooding valleys. Even Migration patterns can be influenced by a hurricaneforcing early or late travel and alternative routes.

So back to the original question: Where do birds fly during a hurricane?

Perching birds (birds that perch on branches) such as jays, sparrows, crows, cardinals, and mockingbirds usually find a strong branch on a tree and sit near the trunk on the other side of the tree, seen from wind and rain, during the storm .

Much People may not know that when songbirds relax, they automatically grab onto themselves with their feet, allowing them to sleep while holding tightly to the branch.

Some of these birds seek shelter under branches and in caves. Pelicans try to stay close to their nesting sites and seek shelter behind offshore islands. Some birds fly to densely vegetated inland areas where they are protected from storm surges, heavy rains and strong winds.

Fossils tell scientists and The scientist Tell us that birds have existed for about 150 million years. (That’s a long time.) The environmentthat isthe climate has been around for even longer. For all we know, it may not be a big deal for a bird to survive a hurricane, but one thing is for sure: than humanity As we move forward over time and our relationship with the environment becomes more interdependent, we may need to become masters of survival, like birds, even more than now.