How do birds fly in a dust storm?|| THE NEXT MASTER

How do birds fly in a dust storm?

Birds have keen senses and are aware of the tiniest environmental changes that indicate a coming storm. Birds can sense shifts in temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, and barometric pressure. When those shifts indicate a storm, the birds are able to take early action to stay safe.

Many birds will feed frantically in the hours before a storm hits, fueling up to survive its duration. They may use that nutritious fuel to leave the area, or to stay warm when the temperature drops. Birds need enough energy until the storm passes and they can return to their normal feeding pattern.

Every storm is different and can have unique effects on your local birds. Storm dangers depend on climate, geography, available resources, and what types of birds are in the storm's path. Any storm, however, can be damaging, and might cause problems for birds such as:

1. Knocking down active nests or flooding ground-level nests or nesting burrows
2. Destroying food crops, killing prey, or otherwise disrupting food sources
3. Disturbing habitat by destroying trees, changing shorelines, or flooding valleys
4. Impacting bird's migration by forcing early or late travel or alternative routes
5. Directly killing birds through floods, collisions with obstacles, burials, etc.
6. Causing wildfires, landslides, flash floods, or other events that further hurt birds

Furthermore, severe storms can also lead to secondary catastrophes that can be deadly to birds. A hurricane, for example, might damage an offshore oil rig, causing an oil spill that could impact seabirds and coastal birds weeks after the storm has passed. A tornado might damage a power line, leading to a wildfire that wipes out grassland habitat many miles from the original storm.