Here you see one of my favorite Brooklin weather forecasters predicting bad weather on February 28. That night and the following morning it snowed fairly heavily.

Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on February 28, 2022.

He’s a herring gull that flew inland from our coastal waters to the more protected roof of this barn. (Five other members of his weather forecasting team were on the roof when I stopped the car in front of the barn, but they flew away, as you probably inferred from the telltale signs of gull visitations.)

Leighton Archive Image

Seagulls and many other birds take protective measures to avoid oncoming bad weather fronts and even earthquakes. Scientists are not certain how the birds sense future atmospheric conditions, but a leading theory is that the birds sense small changes in air pressure.

Leighton Archive Image

The thinking is that the birds have a built-in barometer-like mechanism in their inner ears and/or the air sacs connected to their lungs.

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