Do you go out birding during bad weather? If your answer is “No”, change your birding habits. It’s well worth it. Let me tell you a small story of my birding adventures last Saturday.
I was birding near the German city of Günzburg in a protected area called “Gundelfinger Moos”. This is an open country with some artificial lakes. I like that area as I always find something interesting there - for example, I’ve already seen Merlin, White-tailed Eagles, Great Grey Shrike and about 150 Greater White-fronted Geese there.
Last Saturday I was scanning the meadows for shorebirds (Lapwings, Ruffs) and raptors (Common Buzzards). The weather was bad. It was snowing and the light was very bad so that you could not see much colors in most birds. I had already spotted 5 Common Buzzards when I noticed the sixth “Buzzard” sitting on a small wooden pole. But I immediately noticed that there was something “wrong” with the buzzard. It didn’t take me long to realize that the long tail and the overall gizz were clear signs of a Red Kite, one of the most beautiful and most elegant birds in the world.
If I had stayed at home, I would never have seen the Red Kite. So getting up early and going out, even in bad weather was definitely worth it.
The next time you decide to stay at home, think twice. If it’s not a hurricane, going out birding might be a good choice. And remember. There is not really something like bad weather. There is only bad clothing.

Another note about the red kite: Because I am very familiar with the Common Buzzard, it was easy for me to immediately see that the bird was not a Buzzard but a Red Kite. It’s always good to know the common birds. For more about this, read my post:
Do not neglect the common birds