Heat taking its toll on our birdlife

[2LaneCruzer]

Oklahoma has been the hottest place in the country lately; we have had temps in the triple digits for too long, and no rain for a month or so. I have been watering every day for the past 3 weeks or so, and it's not uncommon to see the indigenous birdlife taking showers in my sprinklers, especially when they can perch in the lilacs. Today I saw a small grey hawk taking his shower in one of my sprinklers, and later in the day, I caught him again, and this time it looked like he was trying to drink from the sprinkler. This is a rare event, even for Oklahoma.

 

[Stimw]

Time to put in some bird baths.
I put one up after seeing birds drinking and bathing in my cats water bowl! Somehow that just didn't seem fair.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Time to put in some bird baths.
I put one up after seeing birds drinking and bathing in my cats water bowl! Somehow that just didn't seem fair.

We have one; we have to fill it every day.

 

[CrownHawg]

We keep several pans of water in our backyard for the birds. We notice them hitting the water more than the feeders lately! It is DRY here in Arkansas as well!

 

[brin]

We have too many cats running around....My Son and his family live next door and they have 2 Cats and we had to take our bird bath away...Their cats were using our bird bath as their baited field ....LOL...WE were actually helping them kill the birds....

 

[studor]

Their cats were using our bird bath as their baited field

The best name for a cat like that is "Target"

 

[jinman]

Two days ago, I got up to find five deer laying in the cool grass in my yard that I'd watered the previous day. They also had drained our birdbath by drinking it dry. It doesn't matter that they could find water in a pond about 150' away, they prefer the fresh well water my wife puts into the birdbath. Of course, they also snack on our rose bushes or any other green plant we have.

2LaneCruzer: I know there is a big wild fire today on the southeast side of Norman. I hope you and your family are safe.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Two days ago, I got up to find five deer laying in the cool grass in my yard that I'd watered the previous day. They also had drained our birdbath by drinking it dry. It doesn't matter that they could find water in a pond about 150' away, they prefer the fresh well water my wife puts into the birdbath. Of course, they also snack on our rose bushes or any other green plant we have.

2LaneCruzer: I know there is a big wild fire today on the southeast side of Norman. I hope you and your family are safe.

Thanks for your concern; we are about 40 or so miles North, but in a wooded area. About 5 or 6 years ago, we had our share of wildfires that burned a lot of homes. A firestorm is a fearsome thing.

 

[chad22]

Whenever I set out the sprinklers the birds around here get under them too. It's fun watching them. I even had a bird pirch on a hose I was holding and taking a drink from one day. Me and the bluebird were drinking from the hose at the same time. lol

That was funny. Wish I could have gotten a picture of that.

Chad

 

[Lady Tonka]

With all your other worries concerning the heat, the drought, and the wildfires, kudos to the OP for caring enough about the poor birds to help them out. :thumbsup:

I know the critter here doesn't have feathers, but I just had to share:

It’s so hot in Oklahoma that this squirrel melted | Grist