Extreme Temperatures Tame Birds, Fewer Showing Up in Yards

(Lafayette, Louisiana) - A heat dome has settled over the entire state of Louisiana in recent days, and temperatures are soaring. Because of the extreme temperatures in the southern region, we are seeing fewer birds in yards.

I was recently sitting in the car rider line at my daughter's school, and while scrolling through social media, I noticced two or three people note that they are seeing few birds in their yards in recent weeks. Some speculated it could be because of mosquito control, but I thought there might be more to it.

As I read their posts, I started looking around the school campus in the center of Lafayette, and there wasn't a bird in sight.

So, as I sat there with the air conditioner blowing at maximum, I looked up to see whether the heat we're dealing with in South Louisiana could be affecting birds' movements and presence in yards.

Birds Absent From Yards During Heatwave

I don't know about you, but when it's hot as it has been here for the last several days, I have little to no motivation to be active. I prefer to hunker down in the house until the evening hours, and I want nothing to do with the extreme temperatures.

Well, it turns out that birds are like some of us; as the temperature soars, they slow down too. According to the Georgia Wildlife Agency, birds seem to vanish when it's really hot out because they stop moving and hide in dense, shady spots to avoid producing internal metabolic heat and prevent deadly dehydration.

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If a bird is too active when it is extremely hot, like humans, it can overheat because its body produces internal heat. That's why you may not notice many birds in your yard or surrounding yards during the day.

Birds are more active during the early morning hours or right before dusk. On days when temperatures are soaring, if you do have water nearby, you may see more birds in that area versus areas without water.

Assisting Birds During Summer

If you would like to assist birds during a heatwave, experts suggest setting up bird baths out of reach of other animals like cats and growing vegetation in your yard, which can provide shelter for the birds.

If you see a bird panting or vibrating its throat while sitting there, it is a natural mechanism for birds to release internal heat that has built up in their bodies.

In conclusion, we are not seeing fewer birds by mistake during this heatwave. Like you and me, they are less active during the peak hours of the day, but you are more likely to see birds a bit more active in the early and later hours of the day.

Perhaps this explains why I have seen the geese migrate from one pond to the other each day near our house. They are hunkered down as the temperatures soar.