I’ve been reading reports about the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. (and across the globe) this week. I keep thinking, if one could withstand the heat, I bet it would be an interesting time to observe wildlife to see how they are coping with the extreme heat they are (regionally) unacc…

I live in NYC, far from the heat of the Northwest, but we had a brief episode of hot weather and topped 100F on Wednesday. (I’m old enough to remember when temps above 90F were extremely rare.) 10C sounds delightful!

90 in the shade was my definition of hot as a child. Then we went metric, and I learnt that 40C is my personal limit.

I used to keep rescued captive cockatiels. When they became old and needed to be kept inside or in sheltered aviaries in winter, I did a lot of things to try and achieve stable temperatures in sun, indoor or out. When I messed up and it became too hot for them, (and they are an Australian species, s…

I don’t know how sustainable it is, but many birds are seen with open mouths when it’s not even incredibly hot, so it should work?

I don’t know, either, but I would think with the air sacs they have in addition to their lungs the rate of dehydration might be higher. On the other hand, that may make their panting/cooling more efficient. In any case, animals at the extreme ends of their temperature tolerances must be at risk of i…

During the four days of the heat wave, over 300 birds including 75 Cooper’s Hawks were captured and taken to the Portland, Oregon, Audubon Society’s bird rescue group. These are both records. Many of the birds lept from the nest early, as nestlings will do when the nest gets too hot. https://www.…

Sad article out today: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/09/1014564664/billion-sea-creatures-mussels-dead-canada-british-columbia-vancouver

Oh, gosh. I’d read a similar article today, but did not grasp just how deeply this will be felt until I read the npr article. You’re right; it’s heartbreaking.

Raptor rehabilitation center in NE Oregon and SE Washington takes in many more nestlings than usual as the flightless baby birds jump from their hot nests. https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2021/07/baby-hawks-in-oregon-bailed-from-nests-amid-heatwave-they-had-no-choice.html

Wildlife response to PNW "heat dome"/heat wave

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Wildlife response to PNW "heat dome"/heat wave

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