Madrid -Spain’s earliest heat wave over 40 years causes extreme stress on national birds, and top-notch baby birds nesting in buildings fall out of their nests in an attempt to escape the high temperatures.
A team at the Madrid Bird Recovery Center is treating dehydrated and undernourished swifts that have fallen from their nests in the front of buildings and in roof cavities after trying to leave before they can fly properly.
“Birds are suffering from this very early heat wave in June, especially in Spain,” SEO BirdLife’s climate and energy adviser David Howell told Reuters.
“They are particularly suffering from heat stress and thirst, and in some cases have to leave the nest to find lower temperatures, so many chicks and fledging chicks are on the ground during this period. (Discovered). Trying to dissipate excess heat. “
Heat waves that coincide with the hatching season are expected to continue until weekends, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many parts of Spain. Night temperatures are also unusually high, between 20 ° C and 25 ° C.
The Brinzar Bird Center in Madrid’s vast Casa de Campo Country Park raises birds by hand until employees are ready to fly. Then they will be released, coordinator Patricia Olehas told Reuters.
Every day of the first two weeks of June, the average daily temperature on the Spanish Peninsula was higher than normal. Tuesday temperatures were nearly 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal, according to the state Meteorological Agency AEMET.
