Sunday, July 10, 2011

Splish Splash





I live in the mid-Atlantic which means the summers are long and hot.  This year we have had a good amount of rain which makes it easier on all the plants and animals.  When a week goes by without rain in such high heat, the animals begin their search for water.  There are a few springs in our woods and the deer seem to be able to get through marsh grass to those.


I have two bird water baths.  One in front and one in back of my yard.  Birds rely on these often, both for drinking and for bathing.  Yes, they do drink their own bath water!  It is fun to watch them splash and shake the droplets every which way.  


I keep the bird bath in the photo above clean.  Washing it with hose water and little bleach every so often, but certainly spraying it out at least once a week and filling with fresh water.  We are on a well, so I do not have to worry about city chemicals, either for me or the birds.


I have read that the 3% of birds that are marine species have salt-control systems because they spend so much time away from fresh water.   They can remove the excess water by using larger kidneys, oily lipids that break down in the digestive system to produce water, and salt glands that sit in bony pockets over the eyes that are important for the excretion of sodium chloride.  They must cry very salty tears!

11 comments:

  1. guess i am not the only one to have fun splashing in the pool today...smiles. we need a bird bath...

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  2. I have two bird baths too, but the birds seldom use it now because they don't yet know that I don't have my cats anymore. They used it in the winter, because they knew (somehow) that my cats never came outside in the winter time.

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  3. Love the pics - especially that second one.

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  4. Neat pictures.... I have two bird baths also... They 'seem' to use the smaller one for drinking and the larger one for baths....I also love seeing them splashing around in the water...

    Let me know if you have any questions about our latest trip--since you are headed that way in the Fall. You are going at a much better time than we did.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. Birds weeping - what a strange idea. I wonder when they do release these tears.

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  6. That was educational Tabor. I enjoyed your bird-bath photos too - Dave

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  7. Brilliant photo sequence - and a fascinating text to back it up. Thank you for both.

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  8. Very interesting. I love the pictures of the birds splashing about. I need to put some bird baths into my garden; I do have a fountain that the birds like splashing about in, but I would like more. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  9. some days I wish I had wings!

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  10. Hey I just realized I lifted your title. It must have been a subconscious post: "Splish Splash".

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