It is the middle of summer in the Philippines and the temperatures are reaching all-time highs. Last week, it was 36.7 degrees Celsius, one of the hottest recorded temperatures for capital city Manila and our backyards birds are enjoying the bird baths setup in the garden.
We setup two bird baths two years ago and the birds, through the years have discovered and learned how to bathe in them. It is mostly the Yellow-vented Bulbuls that we have observed bathing but maybe due to the really hot weather in Manila in the past few days, the Pied Fantail and even the dust-bathing Eurasian Tree Sparrows have taken interest in our bird bath.
This is our digiscoped video using a Swarovski 80 ATM HD, 25-50x eyepiece, Panasonic Lumix G3, Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens, Swarovski UCA
The smaller Eurasian Tree Sparrows use the small stones near the edge of the bird bath while the bigger Yellow-vented Bulbuls take advantage of the deeper portions of the tub.
The day was really hot and the Pied Fantail even took a dip in one of our dog’s dishes:
Sometimes, there’s a queue at the bird baths.
Watching them cool down in the bath, sometimes we can’t help but feel envious at the birds’ beat-the-summer-heat solution. But no pools for humans in our backyard garden, the bathing pools are strictly for the feathered bathers!
For another version of this blog, check out Birding Adventure Philippines blogger Trinket Canlas’ blog here.
For more birding adventures from the Philippines, check out our website at www.birdingphilippines.com
Adrian Constantino
Birding Adventure Philippines
Adrian Constantino
Adrian Constantino is one of the guides of Birding Adventure Philippines and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines for foreign birders looking for our gorgeous endemics, as well as for guided bird walks for the non-birder public. His love for travel has brought him to different places and has given him extensive experience in birdwatching in Luzon, Palawan, Bohol, and Mindanao. His training as a Molecular Biologist and the abundance of green spaces in the workplace has helped him with his birding skills: being observant and taking notes of bird details, behavior and bird calls. He is an avid nature photographer and an outdoor enthusiast, being one not only with the birds, but also with insects, butterflies, plants and other wildlife. He manages Birding Adventure Philippines’ images, videos and the website at www.birdingphilippines.com.
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