Heat Waves Could Silence the Southwests Songbirds

[douglas9]

This story was originally published by High Country News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Because of human caused climate change, the desert Southwest’s heat waves are projected to become more frequent, intense and widespread. According to recent research, this may take a deadly toll on songbirds by century’s end. Songbirds don’t sweat, but because they pant when they’re hot, they still lose water staying cool. During heat waves, birds can lose so much water trying not to overheat that they die of dehydration. Most animals can’t survive losing more than 15 percent of their body mass to dehydration.

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http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/08/heat-waves-could-silence-the-southwests-songbirds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+motherjones%2Fmain+%28MotherJones.com+Main+Article+Feed%29

[csziggy]

1. We've got misters over our bird baths and the birds love them

They are called Cobra Mistands, attach to your regular hose and let out a fine mist. The birds hang out in the mist and the water keeps the bird baths full and clean.

This one is a little different than the ones we have:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cobra-Mistand-10057W/100373188

Ours just has the sprayers out the end rather than on the sides.

I've also thought about building a bird bath like this one for hummingbirds:

Directions: https://www.homestoriesatoz.com/outdoor/diy-bird-bath.html