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what happens with birds on a wet day (1 Viewer)

erik

cheesehead
Netherlands
Monday night was the night. I decided to get up next morning at an early time and take the train to the Holterberg (Holtermountain - mountain for dutchies, probably small hill for people who have real mountains :) )
So the next morning i got up at 6 and took the 6.55 train. It had been raining since i left the house but i didn't want to give up, so i just went to the trainstation and took the train. In 15 mins i was in Holten, the station is located at the foot of the hill. I got out while the rain was still dribbling down. I immediately saw a Goshawk flying over and i thought: This is gonna be an awesome morning!! I walked on and as soon as i reached the forest the heavens opened their floodgates and the rain came pouring down. I had a little shelter from the trees, but you know how it works, the trees just catch the drops, let them grow into big drops, which fall off the leaves again...In less than 2 minutes i was soaking wet. I found shelter under a pine tree which kinda helped.
After awhile i decided to go on anyway and not let my morning be spoiled by the weather. The place is known for Great Grey Shrikes, Waxwings and Black Grouse, and i so desperately wanted to see them. The rain and I both continued and the only thing i saw were some rabbits running away.
Since i never entered this forest before, i didn't know where to go. I'm not the kinda guy that explores a map before entering a forest, keeping in mind you can't get lost in Holland.
I found my way through bushes and small paths, seeing nothing but water, falling down. It kept on raining for one hour, then it stopped. After that the trees began to leak and that was just a little less annoying than the rain.
When i reached a perfect patch for Grouse there wasn't a single noise. So i just walked on.
At last i found a canadian WW2 cemetery. Some Bullfinches hung out there. In the end i saw some Coal Tits in the trees and also lots of Finches. A squirrel ran through the branches and that was it. I did see my first White Wagtail of the season.

Short conclusion: I walked through a wet forest for two hours, not seeing anything spectacular, but very proud of myself for holding on to my beliefs ;)

BTW i've also seen the first Swifts again. I love their sounds as they fly around our house!!

PS. When i got home and read the paper, it said that there were just 8 male grouse on the entire reservation, which is about 20 times the size of the places i visited... :S
 
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Hi Erik!

I think birds do just the same as we try to do on a wet day . . . find a hole or some other cover they can shelter in and not get too soaked!

There's always one or two exceptions, Mistle Thrushes like to sing on wet, windy days, so much so that they used to get called 'Stormcock' in English.

Do birds like wet weather? I guess this depends on the bird! Thrushes like wet weather, because it brings worms to the surface, so they can find lots of food very easily. But birds which eat flying insects, like swallows, can be in deep trouble if the rain lasts too long.

The swifts arrived here too (on 29th), but haven't started visiting my house yet, they're staying around lakes where they can find more food at the moment.

If you want to see Black Grouse, come over to Northumberland, I can find them for you fairly easily :))

Michael
 
Some birds just sit still in the trees, our resident Blackbird will not move at all as it does not want to lose out on his excellent vigil point over his nesting mate.
 
Hi Erik: I could not help but laugh so hard that I fell from the chair reading you were in the "mountians" in Holland, hmmmm My father came from near Deventer, and he boasted, that Holland is the only country in the world created by the Dutch for pulling it out from under the sea... kan je me nog meer vetellen :) (tell me more), but anyhow I did enjoy reading your story.
My last visit to Holland was 1997 after leaving in 1957 with my new bride for Canada, now there we have mountains and forrests :)
Erik, take care and b.t.w. my eldest brother was born in Deventer as well.... visit my webpage and learn more about us and my hobbies.
Warm regards
Walther Loff
www.walther-loff.com
 
Erik,
Have you ever noticed small passerines on the ground when it is raining really heavily. I am talking about House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin etc. They tend to stand more upright and I have wondered why they do this. Is it so that there is less area for the rain to fall on them? Do it run off more quickly if they stand like that so that the feathers have less chance of becoming waterlogged. They don't seem to do this with a light shower, it has to be a real downpour and they tend not to linger in it (like me).I don't know the answer, maybe someone can enlighten me.

Colin
 
The Grey Squirrel in our garden climbed up the panel fencing and clung onto a post pointing it's whole body straight up. I thought this was to reduce surface area for rain to land on! Clever!
 
Its so the rain hits the feathers at more of an angle, so is more likely to bounce off, rather than force its way through the feather web.

Michael
 
Erik, I saw my first treecreepers in the rain, wet and windy weather, woodland by water, ( Tamar Lakes to be precise) all I had on was a shell suit, so I got well and truely drenched, but that sighting made up for it.
The other sighting was on an easter saturday girl guide hike where I saw my first great crested grebe, in a wintery gale of snow and sleet, where we all ended up with mild hypothermia, but we were also well made up with the rare sighting at the time. Nina.
 
Thanx for all replies! There are some interesting things. Colin you shook the fundament of my confidence because i thought you knew everything!!

Hearing all those stories makes me see the world more and more like a wonderful creation. How splendid has it been created!!

Nina, the treecreepers are pretty common here, just as GC Grebe. One of the most beautiful things on birding is to see courting Grebes. I will never forget the first time i saw that!
 
Hi Erik,

Of course the ones that did the right thing to avoid the worst effects of the rain are the ones which survived and bred best, and their young followed suit, and so it goes, slightly better each generation

I'm always amazed at the weird noises those courting GC Grebes make!

Michael
 
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