Tornado and Spring storms Time to Bird? (1 Viewer)

Just had another tonado alert. It is nearly a weekly occurance during this time of year here. I was out at the barn riding and you could feel the steam rising. The air just feels different before a storm. I was watching the clouds with one eye and the birds with another. (Nice to have a good horse that watches were you are going.) I noticed that the birds were quieter than normal and that the ones I saw were close to the ground--not even a Mockingbird at the top of any of the trees. The storm formed above us and hit in the county to the east. It didn't even rain here.

The story that I have heard is that a storm will bring the birds out of the trees on to the ground and make it easier to see them. Okay so is the morning after a good day? Is this a old wive's (husband's) story or is it true?


Birds seen this evening didn't include any sparrows which is highly unusual- but did include several killdeer, Canadian geese, cardinals mockingbird and flycatchers. Also absent were the meadowlarks, bluebirds and all types of blackbirds.

When storms approach the pressure drops. The birds sense pressure better than we do....obviously, they have to deal with it all the time. It's not just an old wives tale that birds fly low and keep low during a low pressure surge (like the fast oncoming tornados or a strong front).
The one old wives tale I don't get is that alot of birds on a wire means it's going to rain.....dang if I don't notice that, but I don't get why that happens...they are out in the open!
shelley

I do know that before our last hurricane, the birds were fighting feverishly at the feeders and this was an observation made by many on the Carolinabirds Listserv

I can almost always hope for some good birding when a front comes at us from the SW as well.