Ugly, desheviled birds? Nothing to worry about at this time of year.

Boy is that bird ugly!

About this time of year, many people see bald or scruffy-headed birds. It's  most obvious on Cardinals. They aren’t seriously sick, and it’s only temporary, so don't get worried. Since birds live outdoors they pick up tiny “feather mites”. Their normal beak-preening gets rid of almost all of them, but they can’t preen the mites from their own heads. Don’t worry - colder weather gets rid of the mites, and the feathers grow back just fine.

 

birds like a lawn that’s cut high    During our extremely hot, sunny weather, birds appreciate a lawn that’s mowed high (about 3” or more). It keeps the soil cooler and plants healthier. To paraphrase a friend, when Robins pull worms from the ground, they won’t need potholders.

As a licensed Landscape Architect I can also recommend mowing lawns high in hot weather because the grass will be healthier.  Reason: all those tall grass blades shade the soil, slowing evaporation, and cooling the roots of the grass plants. It also encourages the grass roots to go deeper into the soil, where there's probably ample moisture. Result; - less water usage.