Drought and Birds: Introduction

Birds must deal daily with a host of weather variables, be it rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, or temperature extremes. One of the longer-term climatic factors with which birds must periodically contend is drought, the lack of precipitation.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)—in cooperation with the National Drought Mitigation Center and the National Integrated Drought Information System—has asked its national network of observers to begin submitting reports of how their communities have been impacted by drought.

The CoCoRaHS "Drought Impact Reporting Guide" can be viewed at this slideshow.

Spurred by this interest in drought, I will endeavor to periodically summarize information about the impact of drought on birds, particularly in North America. My primary source of information will be the invaluable treasure-trove of ornithological literature available through SORA, the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive.

Stay tuned!