It was a beautiful morning at Phillips Lake, in southeast Columbia. Bright sunshine pushed the late morning temperature into the upper 40s (F); unfortunately, a strong northwest wind made my walk much less enjoyable and all but eliminated birding opportunities.
As I have discussed in the past, strong wind and heavy rain are the two weather factors that most interfere with bird activity, forcing them to take cover until conditions improve. The temperature itself is rarely a factor and snow or light rain do not keep them in the shrubs or thickets; I suppose ice storms might be mentioned but they generally pose more of a problem for the birders than the birds.
No waterfowl were observed amidst the wind-driven waves and only a handful of songbird species were encountered, all in a sheltered ravine. A lone turkey vulture was the only bird that clearly relished the turbulent air and, despite my hopeful reasoning, migrant snow geese were not taking advantage of the powerful tail wind. Exercise and fresh air turned out to be the only rewards this morning.
