How do birds manage to survive the unbearable heat of summer? Monday, on a day when temperatures soared to 100 degrees (38 degrees C), I spotted this Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) at Huntley Meadows Park. It was sitting in the shade and looked like it had fluffed up its feathers or was drying off after a dip in the pond in an effort to stay cool.
I was the crazy one standing in the sun.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I see lots of birds at my bird feeders. They are all looking a bit haggard like this female cardinal. I guess the heat is getting to everyone.
A great white heron flew into our backyard. They normally don’t get that close and I couldn’t figure out what was up…until I saw that the sprinklers were on. Heat’s getting to everyone.
Beautiful details!
I was a little surprised that I managed to get so much detail considering the bird was in the shade.
Though they are very photogenic, Cardinals can often be very tricky, for that very reason. These are wonderful images.