Birds beat the heat

With the recent heatwave, and the promise of more extreme heat on the way, spare a thought for the birds, particularly around your garden. A bird bath (or 2 or 3) will be greatly appreciated by a wide range of birds. Over three sweltering days, a total of 16 species of birds were observed using 3 shallow baths in our Strath Creek garden. A few of these are shown below.

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Some tips for bird baths:

• locate the bird baths close to shrubbery for protection and shade
• choose shallow baths or place a rock or two in deeper baths to avoid accidental drownings
• clean out the baths regularly – birds should have clean water for drinking and washing
• keep the baths topped up – water is rapidly depleted on hot days through evaporation (or being splashed out by larger birds!)
• keep cats indoors!

The birds seen or caught on camera were:

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Crimson Rosella; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; New Holland Honeyeater; Australian Magpie; Grey Fantail; Silvereye; Red-browed Finch