The sky turned steel gray and then black. The thunder thudded to
the northeast. The black clouds rolled in, bringing the booms
and cracks closer. Lightning flashed all around. All at once the
sounds of hail pelting on the roof stunned me. Several birds
caught my eye as I looked out the window. First, a killdeer that
was driven to earth by the hail that I observed — half jumping,
half flying over the bank into the rosa rugosa for protection.
The other was a yellow warbler that fell into the scrub oak and
huddled close to the trunk under a canopy of leaves to avoid
being beaten by the hailstones. Humans can easily retreat to a
home for shelter, but birds have to find protection from the
elements come what may. One author suggested that “if you could
x-ray a thick spruce or matted grapevine tangle during a
thunderstorm, you’d probably see a number of songbirds cowering
within.” I have observed eastern bluebirds and tree swallows
head for their boxes during inclement weather, and probably all
cavity nesters do th