Well, somebody above asked for 'facts' so did a bit of searching of bio journals. Basically found little relevant information, suggesting that it has not been well studied. However the article below does have two interesting points.
1) they found no evidence of radar on birds
2) they note that others have found evidence
Behaviour of migrating birds exposed to X-band radar and a bright light beam
I read the article and has some good references to follow up if anyone is interested.
So, it seems an open question still.
Some thoughts:
1) power is not an issue - a battery powered laser can do more eye damage than a 60 watt bulb
2) it may have something to do with the bird species and radar frequency mix
3) nothing is ever absolute - single cases are basically irrelevant to making a broad conclusion
I suspect some birds may be able to sense it in some situations, it is just that we o not know what ones in what situations, nor do we know what behavior such a sensation would induce.
About the people who could sense it, this seems reasonable and reminds me of how some people can sense polarized light even though most can not. (e.g.
Haidinger's brush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)