Exploring Nature: Torrid Temperatures

Yes indeed, it has been a tad warmish in our area lately. Cows are giving evaporated milk and wiener dogs have grill marks.

So what is a poor bird supposed to do when temps reach triple digits?

After all, birds don’t have sweat glands, so unlike humans, they can’t have evaporative cooling from their skin. However, birds can pant, like a dog. So they breathe rapidly and they also lose heat through their feet and their bills.

And, very importantly, they can get in shade if any is available.

Still, there have recently been massive heat-related die-offs of birds and bats in Australia. And birds have expired in large numbers in the Mojave Desert.

Sea surface temps are also rising and seabirds such as common murres have expired off the coast of Alaska.

So what can you do to help birds during this sweltering summer? Well, if you have the space, you can install a birdbath. I have a large concrete bath in my backyard, directly under a massive oak tree. It not only provides a welcome drink to birds and deer, it has been a great place for birds to splash around and cool off.

If you install a birdbath, do place it in a shady location if possible and do keep the water clean and fresh.

In addition to my bath, I keep a small bowl of water on my back deck and I notice the birds seem to use it even more than the large birdbath. So it doesn’t take much to keep your feathered friends happy.

Provide a source of clean water. Provide bird houses located in shade and not exposed to long, sunny hours.

Your reward will be an ever-changing cast of avian visitors and the satisfaction of having helped birds survive a long, hot summer.