Living with Birds Nick's Summer Notes Tweetapedia

Sun seekers

Birds sunbathe too, not to top up their tan, you understand, but for much more functional reasons. You might notice a bird, flattened out on the ground (or a roof in the case of House martins), wings and tail spread, while the body feathers are fluffed up. While they appear to be enjoying themselves, the real reason is probably to condition their feathers.

The sun’s rays may help soften and distribute those fatty oil secretions like butter in a pan, helping the warm lipids to move freely across the surface of each feather.

Other benefits could include helping the birds produce vitamin D by exposing their skin to direct sunlight, and it may also make life a bit more unpleasant for various feather parasites. Various feather mites, ticks and fleas inhabit the warm, dark, feathery recesses of a bird's body. By spreading out in the sun, these parasites may be forced to move away from the light. Either leaving he bird's body or moving them within easy reach of a preening beak!

Left for dust

Birds bathe for much the same reasons we do. Water loosens up the dirt and dust that accumulates in their feathers. And whatever doesn’t get flushed out is easier to comb away when preening. It’s also thought to distribute oily secretions from the preen gland – especially when combined with dust bathing, something my sparrows frequently do in the summer. (Leaving lots of little sparrow-sized dints anywhere there is exposed soil) After a quick roll in the dirt, it’s a pleasure to see previously grubby birds emerge from between my herbaceous plants looking dapper. 

Dead head

If you can leave some of the flowers in your garden to go to seed, it will benefit the wildlife. What I mean by this is don’t remove the dead flower heads off everything, because in doing so, not only do you stop the production of seeds and therefore the opportunity of free flowers in the future, but you also deny the birds that like them too. Thistles (wild and ornamental), Teasels, various daisies, and many other plants besides produce tempting seed heads full of nutritious seeds. These seed heads are also home to many species of insects, which in turn serve as another food source for the birds.  Taking this a step further - how about planting flowers especially for this purpose? Sunflowers are a favourite. That’s win, win, win!

No sweat

Fresh water’s one of the easiest ways to increase your garden’s worth to wildlife this summer.Installing a pond is always a good idea, given the increased likelihood of hose pipe bans becoming a regular occurrence. How about saving rainwater with a water butt (or preferably, if you have space, several of them in series)? This way you can top up any water feature, bird bath or bog garden guilt-free! Water is not only an excellent habitat for a wide range of wildlife, from amphibians to dragonflies. It also produces more insect life (bird food and pollinators) for the garden, and of course, a source of valuable water for the birds.

While birds don’t have sweat glands, they do lose water through the simple bodily functions of breathing and excreting. Most drink daily, whether it’s hot or not. Those on a juicy insectivorous diet can go a while without water, as moisture is provided naturally with every meal. Seed-eaters, accordingly, need to drink more frequently. 

Bug bonanza

Researchers have identified a lack of insect food as one of the primary drivers behind the alarming decline of house sparrow populations. Now a red-listed species, numbers are down by 70% in urban areas since records began in the 1970s. You can help by planting out some insect-friendly bushes. Another easy summer win is putting out live mealworms, gobbled by adults and fledglings alike. 

Natural beauty

My lawn isn’t the most exquisitely manicured. And while it’s no award winner in the looks department, it is proudly free of fertiliser, weed killer and other chemical nasties.  The payback is that I get to enjoy watching my resident blackbirds diligently pulling worms from the turf like some never-ending magician’s hat, and because I leave it to get long, it doesn’t become a brown, dead desert when the weather heats up. It stays greener and cooler, while the moist, softer soil beneath means there is always insect life that can be reached by foraging birds.

Longer grass not only provides habitat and shelter for summer-time favourites, such as various meadow butterflies like the meadow brown, ringlet, speckled wood, gatekeeper, and skippers, but it is also home to those summer singers, the grasshoppers and crickets, who now take over where the birds have left off.