How bad weather makes for good birdwatching

Most people know that birds migrate as the seasons change, but did you know that bad weather can create incredible birdwatching opportunities?

Transcript

00:00Most people know that birds migrate as the seasons change.

00:05All those birds that are migrating at night are taking advantage of that low-level jet stream that forms to the east of the Rockies,

00:12which is just like the conveyor belt for all that warm, moist air.

00:16And obviously that sets up the situation for severe weather.

00:19But did you know that that bad weather can make for incredible bird watching?

00:24The bad weather, if it's bad enough, it'll put birds down.

00:27Let's say you live in a bird-migrating thoroughfare like the center of the United States,

00:32as birds come from South America, fly over the Gulf of Mexico, and continue north.

00:37If they reach the U.S. coast and conditions are favorable, they'll just keep going.

00:42Migrating birds can fly hundreds, even thousands of miles without stopping.

00:47So you might never see these birds, unless they encounter severe weather.

00:52If they encounter bad conditions or if the birds themselves are not in very good condition,

00:58they may stop in the soonest habitat they can find.

01:01Bird watchers and experts call this a fallout.

01:04It's a general term that describes when birds interact with a really strong system of weather.

01:13It could just be very strong, opposing winds.

01:16Often it's with precipitation as well, and then it forces birds to come down

01:21in places where either they otherwise wouldn't or before they otherwise would.

01:25The experience of being engulfed by different, sometimes rare bird species

01:29from thousands of miles away can leave an impression.

01:32Birds just drop out, and they drop very low.

01:35They move into the headwinds and make for the closest land that they can achieve.

01:40And then they all drop out, and it can be incredible concentrations of birds.

01:45For AccuWeather, I'm Monica Danielle.