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Water Will Attract Birds, Butterflies and Other Animals to Your Backyard Habitat
Water is one of the easiest (and cheapest) things to provide to attractanimals toyour backyard habitat. And it is the most important. It isuseful in attracting birds, butterflies, mammals and other animals. It has many uses including:
Types of Sources You Can ProvideTo decide what to add: Assess what you have and what will best for your mini-nature preserve. Try to mimic thesame sources animals will find in your local area. In my area, wehave ponds, streams and vernal pools. My saucers duplicatethenatural pools that form in the creeks and streams, not far from myhouse. The photograph above shows the most popular saucer in mybackyard.I have found that ground level naturalistic features are visitedthe most in my backyard habitat. This inexpensiveplastic saucer has a couple of rocks as landing platforms. My local bird seed store sells replacement tops for hanging bird baths.I just bought a inexpensive, easily replaced saucer as my ground levelpond. The white device in the photo is a "wiggler". This device is powered by 2"D" batteries. It has alittle piece that hangs down and vibrates. This piece sends ripplesacrossthe saucer, just like a real pond. This movementattracts birds. A steady drip does thesame thing. If you have a natural source such as a stream or pond thatattracts the animals you want,count yourself lucky. If youwould like create a backyard pond or wetland. These pdfs willhelp you. backyardpond (pdf) backyard wetland (pdf) Gear your Water Resourceto the Animals that Visit Your Backyard Habitat. One of the saucers in my backyard habitat, sits atopa woodenstump about 12 inches off the ground. It is partially hiddenby plantsand has a fence behind it that the birds perch on and survey the areabeforedropping down to drink. No matter the source, birds like having rocks as landing platforms inthe dishes or ponds. For small birds, a bird bath shouldn’tbe deeper than 3inches. Butterflies like mud puddles. An area that provides this will drawvarious species to your nature habitat. The males in particular like togatherat puddles, andsip up minerals. You can place damp mud or sand in a saucer to provideforthem. I know the raccoons and opossums drink from the dishes in my backyardon theirnightly rounds. I don’t mind because they are not a problemin mybackyard. Feral cats also visit the dishes, particularly at night. Thecats are not a problem because the birds are sleep in their roosts whentheyvisit. Creating a backyard nature habitat requires acceptance of allcreatures, if you are to keep yoursanity. Where to Place ItIhave hanging bird bath butthe small ground pool, draws more visitors. I guess because animalsdon't findnatural streams and ponds suspended in mid-air, like the bird baths wesometimesbuy.Some birds and animals prefer somewhat sheltered wateringplaces. Others don’t mind being in more open areas. Small birds like shelter and a quick get-away. The chickadees andcardinals will sit on the fence and survey the area for predatorsbefore dropping down to drink. A quick sip or two and they fly off tosafety. A safe place to perch can be created with a stickdriven into theground. Fences, shrubs and trees also work well. Keep it Clean Fresh, clean pesticide-free water is very helpful. The plastic saucers I use are easy to clean, move andreplace. I regularly scrub them with mild soap. For dishs and bird baths. Create a routine where you change and refreshthe dish daily duringhot weather. This eliminates the chance of providing a breeding groundfor mosquitoes. And some birds, like mourning doves, tend to“foul” dishes and bird baths. In WinterIf birds and other animals have a convenient source forbathing and drinking, then they don't have to expend precious energysearching for it. A filled dish or pond in your backyard is a surething. It can draw rarely seen birds and animals for close upviewing.This even more crucial in winter. A common problem in cold-weatherareas is how to keep the water fromfreezing. I have been experimenting with solar pumps and smallrecirculating motors. I now use a solar sipper. This is acontainer with a innerblack plastic bowl. It keeps the water unfrozen in thewinter, as long as the temperature doesn't dip too low. Ihave had water freeze in my solar sipper, though. I was worried thatthebirds would not know what it was. But, it took the Mourning Doves about15 minutes to figure out how to use it. Iplaced it on the same wooden stump that holds a plasticplant saucer during the summer. Adding water your your habitat is easy and quickly done. It can helpyou get started right away. For books on Creating a Backyard Habitatvisit the Sunflower Naturalist Store. More Pages on Ceating a Backyard Habitat:foodcover placesto raise young attractingbutterflies attractingbirds From Water Return to Backyard Habitat
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