Notes about your surroundings

Water Birds--Hot weather is as much a hazard to the birds in your back yard as it is for your pets. Ensure that your feathered friends are cool and well-fed by following these hot summer tips:

* Bird baths: Seed-eating birds require a bird bath or shallow basin of water for drinking and bathing.

* Cleanliness: Empty the bird bath daily, using a scrub brush to keep basin clean. A sprinkler or spray is often very inviting to birds on hot days.

* Location: Place bird bath out of reach of cats.

* Hummingbird feeders: Feeders should be cleaned out every two to three days, especially during heat spells. To make sugar water, mix one part sugar to four parts water. Bring to a boil. Cool. Decorate feeder with red flowers or paint; never add red coloring to sugar water.

* Leftovers: Scatter pieces of leftover hamburger buns and other bread products on the ground near the feeder for plain titmouse, robins, crows, wrens and sparrows.

* Fruit: Instead of throwing away berries or apple cores, place these near the feeder for woodpeckers, warblers and quail.

* Nuts: Summer can also mean a decrease in the birds’ food resources as plants die off from the heat. Your winged diners will appreciate feeders filled with a mix of different seeds, including sunflower, cracked corn and millet.