Water features: Provide baths for birds in yard

By AMY ROGNLIE | Photo from iSTOCK | Kenneth Wiedemann

The hubby and I have long discussed adding a pond to our small backyard, usually in a vague, wishful kind of way: “Wouldn’t it be fun to have a pond?” or “I bet we could grow water lilies if we had a pond,” or even, “Wouldn’t it be cool to have a pond and put fish in it?” Sigh.

The closest we have ever gotten to a water feature is the summer I bought a foot-high tabletop fountain for half off at Hobby Lobby. I filled it with water, plugged it in on the deck and set some potted plants near it. I guess I had hoped that the soothing sound of the little trickle would add some ambiance to my west-facing, 110-degree and 85% humidity deck, where neither I nor anyone else was going to sit and relax to the musical tinkle of running water for any length of time. At least not until, oh, October or so.

I also theorized that the fountain would provide a delightful water source for butterflies, hummingbirds and the like. I never did see any pollinators even come near it, but the squirrels were delighted with it and regularly perched on top of the thing, digging through the pebbles with their little squirrelly hands, drinking all the water, and knocking over the potted plants. Double sigh.

We have, however, been successful with a bird bath. It sounds a bit ostentatious to describe a birdbath as a “water feature,” but it does hold water and attract wildlife, so we’ll roll with that. We bought ours at a big box store, but if you’re the artsy-craftsy kind, you can spend hours perusing DIY ideas online, each more inspiring (or daunting) than the next.

But whether you purchase one or construct one, the main thing with a bird bath is to place it where birds or other wildlife (yes, squirrels), will feel safe.

Meaning, don’t stick a bird bath in the middle of your front yard all by itself. For one thing, it looks kinda lonely and forlorn. For another thing, birds especially need to have some foliage nearby where they can hide if they feel threatened. Nestle your bird bath near some shrubbery or at least under a tree where the birds can dart to safety.

Bird baths also need to be cleaned regularly. The problem with locating a bird bath under a tree is that leaves, seeds and twigs regularly fall or blow into it. And in our extreme Central Texas heat, all that organic debris turns to icky brown slime very quickly. Mosquitoes can also be an issue during the summer, but if you are regularly cleaning the bird bath at least once a week, the mosquito issue is minimized. You can also purchase tablets that dissolve in the water and kill mosquito larvae before they have a chance to leave the water.

Don’t forget to keep the bird bath full even in the fall and winter. The birds will still visit it, perhaps even more than in the summer when other water sources are plentiful.

So at our house, we will keep filling and cleaning our bird baths for now while dreamily discussing the pond idea. There are many inexpensive DIY ways to create water features other than bird baths (minimal effort) and full-fledged ponds (maximum effort and money), so I’ll fill you in on those next time. Maybe I’ll be able to grow those water lilies yet …