Our new paper has just come out, from work done at Fowlers Gap a couple of years ago. In the study we looked at how nestlings are affected by both very hot days and very windy days as they are developing in the nest. These conditions are stressful for nestlings, and we found that both types of bad weather affected the level of corticosterone – the stress hormone. These findings are likely to be driven both directly and indirectly. When nestlings are very hot, they find it hard to lose heat and that will be stressful itself. Wind can be stressful because the noise will mask the ability to hear other sounds in the environment, such as communication with parents, and also the noise of approaching predators. In addition, the results may be the indirect effect of hunger, as parents will find it much more difficult themselves to find food to feed to their nestlings when it is hot and windy. The work was led by Ondi Crino, who is an endocrinologist, and expert on stress. The paper can be found here.