Birds and Foul Weather

A massive low has moved over Cordova, bringing strong winds, drenching rains and near-freezing temperatures. It’s a tough times for all birds, and it has been interesting to see the different strategies employed by different birds.

Big birds like Bald Eagles basically ignore the weather or, at most, seem to simply annoyed.

Bald Eagle in the Rain

A bird like a Black Oystercather, by contrast, spends all its time in the water anyway, to it’s no big deal as long as the water stays a liquid.

Black Oystercatcher

Smaller birds, by contrast, aren’t as well adapted to the bad weather conditions, and have less mass, causing them to cool off more quickly. So they have adapted a different strategy.

A Pile of Peeps – Mixed Western and Least Sandpipers Huddle

As a birder and photographer, WC employed a different strategy still: he mostly stayed in the car. You know, to keep fro m risking damage to the camera. Can’t be too careful. And, besides, it was really miserable out there.