Where the Birds Wait Out the Heat
Finding shade, silence, and open-mouthed birds in Cape Charles
I went camping under a heat dome in Cape Charles, Virginia. While others frolicked by the pool, doing cannonballs and blasting themselves in the face with water guns—I slipped away to the trails, seeking shade and birds.
Fortunately, we humans come equipped with sweat glands—nature’s built-in cooling system. We’re remarkably efficient at shedding heat through evaporation.
Birds, though—they weren’t dealt that card. No sweat glands. Instead, they rely on what biologists call behavioral adaptations. When the temperature climbs, some species resort to gular fluttering: they open their beaks and pulse the muscles in their throats to move air and shed heat. You can see the vibration in their necks.
But these birds? They just sat there—beaks open, quiet. The heat seemed to nail them in place.
Flying must’ve cost more than they could afford, so they stayed. Later, scrolling through my photos, I realized I hadn’t captured a single bird with its beak shut.
Thankfully, by the following day, the worst of the heat had passed.
We can help in small ways, right from home—a dish of fresh water, a running bird bath. Tiny kindnesses.
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Happy 4th of July!