How does weather affect bird behavior?

[ann shiller]

I'm interested in how weather affects bird behavior here in Florida or along the Gulf or Atlantic coast. Cold weather or tidal movements and wind direction? Are there any good books or resources?

[Flavio Rose]

Just something obvious. When migrating, birds benefit from tailwinds and can really suffer if instead they encounter headwinds. Cold may for example adversely affect insect abundance; colder springs in breeding zones may lead to later breeding for this reason. There is a bit of discussion of this in the "New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe," which I happen to be reading. I have never seen a copy, but I bet Sir David Attenborough's "The Life of Birds," on sale for one cent plus shipping at Amazon.com, has some discussion.

[John Chardine]

Perhaps more climate -long term weather- than weather itself but in your area, rainfall affects the size of ponds and wetlands. In dry-down periods the ponds get smaller, concentrating fish. This makes it easier for storks and ibises et al. to find food and can stimulate the breeding cycle to begin.

As mentioned, there is a large literature on bird migration and weather. I am not sure there is one source you can go to which summarises all this information for the area you are interested in.