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Trott has one in which fresh water is slowly dripping into the tiny and very shallow pool. I admit I have not noted birds using this source of water for drinking or bathing more than usual.
Birds find water in places it wouldn’t occur to us to know about'. Water collects in the crotches of big trees and in knot holes. Birds also get water from the drops that form on plants. A green leaf is always expelling water into the air; when the nights are cool this condenses into droplets. We call it dew.
Water droplets on plants form the complete source of liquid for newly hatched bobwhites. These tiny birds, looking like pecans with legs, can run about almost as soon as they hatch, whereas the naked, blind and helpless young of robins and cardinals are cared for in the nest for up to two weeks. The hen bobwhite immediately collects her newly hatched brood and leads them to plants that have water droplets on them.
Now, at the tail end of July, many birds have ceased singing. Robins in our yard still hurl challenges at each other: “Anything you can sing, I can sing louder. And better.” To me, it is a rollicking affirmation of being a robin at the beginning of another hot summer day and the welcome end of one. I hear no concern for heat or lack of water in robin songs.
To sum it up, high temperatures are not a problem for birds. Lack of water may be. Keep the bird bath filled.
Write Virginia naturalist John Trott at: P. O. Box 631, Warrenton, Va., 20188.
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