How to help wildlife in extremely hot weather

, 12 August 2020
How to help wildlife in extremely hot weather
Bird bath for House sparrows © Alan Price

With such prolonged period of high temperatures, we've put together a list of some things you can do to help wildlife

Add shade to your garden 

Many animals seek shade during hot periods, just as humans do. A good way to help them is by creating a shaded area in your garden so they can cool off. Tall grass is good as are slabs and rockeries. Maybe make a pile of branches where it's shady to help smaller animals as well. 

Create a birdbath

Providing a bird bath is a great way to help birds. If you have a garden, put out a washing up bowl filled with water so birds can clean their feathers and then fly away to dry off. If you've got one, keep it topped up. Top up your bird feeders too.

Put out a shallow dish of water for other thirsty animals 

Foxes, hedgehogs and other animals will really appreciate it. Keep it topped up and place a small stone in the middle for insects to land on. 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783154897.34850 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783154897.37850.03Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783154897.37870.0002Server address: 216.73.217.177
1783154897.37870Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783154897.37870Page arguments:
Array
(
    [0] => /news/how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather
    [s] => how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather
    [1] => how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather
)
1783154897.3790.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.380.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783154897.3820.002 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783154897.38250.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783154897.38450.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22604261
1783154897.3850.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22604261
1783154897.38550.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-04 08:48:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-04 08:48:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783154897.38670.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 08:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783154897.38920.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783154897.38970.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2292 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 08:48:00'
1783154897.39060.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783154897.39830.0077 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783154897.39920.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1783154897.39980.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1783154897.40040.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783154897.40070.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783154897.40150.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 08:48:00' AND postSlug='how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather'
1783154897.42240.0209Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783154897.42310.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783154897.42480.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783154897.42510.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783154897.42590.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783154897.42710.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783154897.43010.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.43070.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783154897.43280.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783154897.43280.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.43370.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.43430.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.43710.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.43830.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.43910.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783154897.44170.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.44250.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783154897.44470.0023 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783154897.44520.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783154897.44540.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783154897.4460.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783154897.44640.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='how-to-help-wildlife-in-extremely-hot-weather')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-04 08:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783154897.44820.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783154897.44870.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783154897.45220.0035Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783154897.45320.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2292 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783154897.50330.0501 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783154897.50360.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783154897.50390.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783154897.50480.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783154897.50550.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783154897.5060.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783154897.50810.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.50860.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783154897.51040.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783154897.51120.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783154897.51170.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783154897.51230.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783154897.51450.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.51490.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783154897.51690.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783154897.52020.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783154897.52090.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783154897.52130.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783154897.52360.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.52420.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783154897.5260.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783154897.52820.0022 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783154897.52890.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783154897.52930.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783154897.53120.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783154897.53170.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783154897.53350.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783154897.53470.0012Request time: 0.1897
1783154897.53470Process time: 0.1895
1783154897.53480Memory: 1.6223