I love hearing how the butterfly came in response to you question. Yes, you are helping and your actions to matter. It is a reminder that we all have our own individual tool to play. No act is too small if done with positive intentions.
I am so happy you enjoyed the podcast/ audio. We didn’t know how it was going to go but we had a good time making it and all want to do one in the future. It was wonderful to gather together for this awesome project! It was interesting too.
They are racing to save baby birds from the heat in Phoenix. Until I saw this story, I hadn't thought about the baby animals suffering from this heat. I am so glad volunteers are on hand to help. @Lovendures, perhaps you have heard about it.
Also
How to keep birds cool in the summer heat?
Also want to tag more people because this heat wave is now spreading the the center of the country and perhaps to the east coast.
After reading the above article, I'm adding ice to our bird bath, and have moved it and our bird houses to shady places, as well as no pruning, so it stays shady in more places that birds nest.
@deetoo @Bluebelle @unk-p @tonyaW @seaholly
@jeanne-mayell We have not had a terrible heat wave this year, although there is still time for that to happen. However, it’s very dry and the deer are constantly in our garden searching for tender morsels. Adding ice to your birdbath sounds like a wonderful idea. Our birdbath is in constant use and I would think the birds would flock to your shady, cool water bath. Do you have a hummingbird feeder? That might help, too.
I have been watching the wildlife during this record breaking summer heat. What I have noticed about the birds is somewhat common for hot weather, but a bit more extreme. They are very loud in the morning in particular. Lots of squawking and communication between each other while sitting in shade around 7-9 am. Not much heard or seen of them after that time except after the late afternoon sprinklers go off. Then it is a bird party in my backyard, but low energy because of the 110 plus temps.
We have grass in our yard, mostly because of summer weather. Yes, it is not a good thing for a drought stricken state, however it is helpful for a boiling summer state because grass helps cool down the land and air. It is much cooler than a desert landscape. We have a great deal of wild life which frequent our yard and the grass (and trees) make it a safe haven for wildlife.
Birds and bunnies will congregate in shady areas of the grass. They will drink from sprinkler produced puddles. Even the hummingbirds will drink from the puddles. Bunnies will spread out their bodies in the cooler damp dirt (shaded and wet) for hours. Birds of prey including owls will even rest on the grass which is very odd.
Bobcats have been known to take refuge in yards with swimming pools.
I have not seen actual baby birds this summer, But I have heard a noisy baby calling out for food in the mornings. I have also seen juvenile quail with their parents in my yard.
We always get geckos which sneak inside and climb on our windows and walls. I have seen only one baby gecko this year, not sure where they all went.
Birds I have viewed on the lawn this summer:
Grackle, quail. hummingbirds ( yes, ON the lawn) , sparrow, doves, woodpeckers brewers blackbirds, and starling.
Crossing the street ...roadrunners.
In years past owls and hawks would visit in summer.
Here's a helpful NYT article about how to support birds through this heat. It's a gift article, so you don't need a subscription to read it.
Something I've learned is the importance of changing the water daily and scrubbing the water receptacles well. In the Texas heat, at least, algae can form on the bottom of the saucer, bowl, etc. within a day. So I take a scrub brush to them each morning before I refill with water.
Similarly, if you keep a hummingbird feeder, you should change the nectar every other day, to keep it from fermenting in the heat and thus harming the birds.
@gbs That NYTimes story was so delightful. I love watching birds bathing in my bird bath. First they perch on the edge, then quickly look around, then dip their beaks in for a drink. It is all so cautious. Then they step into the bath, look around again, and then they make an explosion of it, with water going everywhere. The article showed different scenarios of birds bathing.
Also I didn't know that if you change the water once a day, you don't have to worry about mosquitos breeding.
During our recent Q&A session with seers, I had a climate change prediction that humans and animal/fish/bird species will adapt to rising temperatures. Here's an article from the New York Times about European cities relying on age-old ways to cool homes and city streets. In some ways, we will look to the past to adapt and in other ways, we will have new revolutionary ideas about coping with heat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/world/europe/europe-heat-buildings-air-conditioning.html
I think it takes at least 3 days for mosquitos to breed. I leave several shallow containers of water out at different spots because my birdbath is unusually tall, and i don't know if the possums and some other creatures can jump that high. It's so hot that the water doesn't last more than a day, so no worries about mosquitos.
Another thing i have been doing is putting produce scraps and peels (and any fruit that is over-ripe) in the fridge to get it cold, and then putting it out for the animals. It disappears very quickly! The squirrels and birds especially love orange slices, but they never eat the orange peels. They do like apple peels and things like that, though.