Eli5. Seagulls and other seabirds appear to defy physics when flying against the wind.

Question

I often see seagulls fly directly into a fierce wind, sometimes hardly flapping their wings. How is that even possible?

In: 0

Answer 1

Air moves! We can’t see it, but it’s not much different than a river, which we can see.

When a bird is stationary to the ground, it means they’re flying the same speed as the wind.

If you imagine the sky is a river of air and the ground the riverbank, it isn’t that much different from watching a fish swim upstream. It makes sense when you can see them swim against the moving water even if they look like they’re stationary in the water.

Birds are the same but since we can’t see the wind we think they’re hovering.