Weather Impact on Birds - Advice ?

B

BirddogGSP

Active member
Would love to hear thoughts on how weather impact birds and their daily activities.
Hunted this weekend with cloudy overcast days and 15-20 mph wind and 25-30 degree weather.
What are they doing in this kind of weather? Hanging in cat tails, sloughs, etc.
Let's hear it.
 
I prefer those temps and winds as the birds typically hold a little better. I hunt heavy grass and cattails by food sources. Not that you wont find them without much food around if cover is good just may be in small numbers. Shelter belts that block the wind near food are also a great place to check out.
 
Until we get some moisture, I'm not real keen on getting too aggressive in the cattails. Honestly, I never get too overzealous with the cattails except for late in the year with at least 6" of snow on the ground. I've found by working the edge that my dog will go in if she scents anything. I'm not saying I don't or won't hunt cattails, I just prefer to work other habitat, provided I'm finding birds.

I will note that on Sunday when I went out, I still am finding a lot of birds in the grass. Even with real heavy winds, the 12" above the ground is pretty calm, including lighter grass that one would think to be not so pleasant. As always, I'm watching the clock, the neighboring crops, contours of the land and habitat transition zones. Once the snow eliminates the grasses, I will be much more focused on cattails and thicker habitat that hasn't been crushed by Mother Nature's white blanket.
 
Just returned myself from 9 days of hunting, we found birds in all types of cover, especially if near food. Sunday was windiest of the 9 days...shot 2 in heavy grass, and one that flew out of picked corn into small chunk of cattails later in the afternoon...they all don’t do the same thing at the same time, obviously. They make do very well, a very practical and pragmatic bird...but they need food and cover and water...it’s a bit like switching from sharptail hunting to pheasant hunting...you change the type of cover you hunt, focusing on pheasants...and you still see sharptails! Hey, you’re not supposed to be here! This is pheasant cover! We have preconceived notions, they do what suits them at that moment....
 
Extreme wind and snow will push them into trees or cattails....barring really extreme weather, I think they use what is fairly convenient that meets their needs at that moment...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top