Did You Know That Birds Can Predict the Weather?
Birds can predict the weather and all we need to do is pay attention. I find it so interesting that when most of us want to know what the weather is like, rather than looking outside, we open our phones to a weather app. How many times have you said, “Well, the weatherman (or weatherwoman) got that wrong!” Birds don’t get it wrong.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, we can observe our feathered friends and know what they know from their behavior. They say that when birds fly high in the sky it’s most often an indication of fair weather. Low flying birds are a sign of rain.
An old saying is, “Hawks flying high means a clear sky. When they fly low, prepare for a blow.” Birds are affected by air pressure. When barometric pressure drops, swallows, who have sensitive ears, fly close to the ground. They say that “migrating birds can fly more easily in dense, high-pressure conditions.” Birds also become silent when a storm is expected and can be heard singing in the rain when the weather is about to become fair again.
There are many bird-related sayings regarding weather that you might want to remember when on vacation. For instance, “When seagulls fly inland, expect a storm,” and “When fowl roost in daytime, expect rain.”
Here are a few more:
If crows fly in pairs, expect fine weather; a crow flying alone is a sign of foul weather.
The whiteness of a goose’s breastbone indicates the kind of winter: A red or dark-spotted bone means a cold and stormy winter; few or light-colored spots mean a mild winter.
When domestic geese walk east and fly west, expect cold weather.
If birds in the autumn grow tame, the winter will be too cold for game.
When the rooster goes crowing to bed, he will rise with a watery head.
When the swallow’s nest is high, the summer is very dry. When the swallow buildeth low, you can safely reap and sow.
There are many animals and patterns of nature that predict weather but birds caught my attention in the storms of a few weeks ago and they were right!
See what you observe in signs without words
In the prediction of weather from your local birds!