THE BIRDIES SAY RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY - 3/25/20


 

THE BIRDIES SAY RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

By: PEGGY WILLIAMS AKA Birdie of Mississippi

 

Sitting in my duck blind in my “daytime pajamas” on a rainy Sunday afternoon watching birds fly in to have Sunday dinner, I enjoy the way that their feathers look so pretty and clean from all the rain that they have endured living outside.  I’m sure that all of you have noticed that the rain has continued longer than we can ever remember!  The weather man said yesterday that out of 84 days in 2020 so far we have had 59 days of rain!  So this prompted me to think – How does all this rain affect the birds?

Feathers protect birds from the wind and the rain by trapping air against their bodies.  The natural oil from their preen glands keeps their feathers pretty much waterproof and helps the rain run-off without sinking down to their body.  But in heavy or continuous rains like we have been having they must seek shelter in bushes and trees to preserve body heat.  They then conserve their energy similar to how they do at night, but with all this rain their energy levels have become low.  So, if you are a bird lover now is the time to fill suet and high energy black oil sunflower seeds into your feeders to give them a much needed boost!  They can die of hypothermia much easier due to all the dampness and continual rain. Even though we have had warmer temps being constantly wet can make the birds exhausted. Since many baby chicks have begun to hatch those chicks will be very vulnerable to all this rain and the mother birds can be even more worn out because she will have to cover the chicks longer to keep them warm. So seed loving birds will come to your feeders a lot during all this rain just to maintain their strength and we must do all we can to help them during this stormy weather.  So if you can, please fill your feeders and enjoy the large crowds of birds that will visit your yard. 

Not all birds are seed eaters.  I moved my duck blind to higher ground so that my feet wouldn’t be in the mud and that opened up a whole new spot in my yard that quickly brought robins to enjoy the worms that came to the surface to get away from the flooded soil.  They were having a good time pulling the worms out of their holes and I listened as they shared the good news to their fellow robins as they sang out their song.  I even caught one of them in a photo with its mouth opened wide as he was singing in the rain!  

Birds that have a diet of insects also have a problem finding food because there aren’t as many bugs swarming about during cool, rainy weather and may suffer greatly during this time.  But, since warmer weather is beginning, hopefully their diet won’t suffer too long even though I personally hate to have bugs get started up again!

Keeping our eyes on birds instead of constantly thinking about the troubles of this world will help us also to weather these storms and remember that “this too shall pass.”  “Look to the birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26) and do all that you know to do for the birds, your family and friends and then trust God with all the rest.

My photos may be viewed & “LIKED” on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - “Birdie of Mississippi”. E-mail: birdieofmississippi@gmail.com - Read my Blog @ http://www.birdieofmississippi.blogspot.com

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