Water and its Importance
Image by Gaith Shalan from Unsplash
Water could be considered the elixir of life. Most humans won’t live long without consuming a healthy amount of water. It’s only possible to survive without water for a matter of days. You may be susceptible to the effects of dehydration even sooner, depending on certain factors such as climate and/or amount of activity.
For birds, water is even more important. Consider that birds also need water to keep their bodies cool, inside and out. Birds also bathe and rejuvenate their feathers, as this is their mode of transportation and how they acquire their food. Regular baths remove parasites, dust, debris and loose feathers from a bird’s plumage and keep their feathers clean for most effective flight.
Birds can even drink their body weight in water each day or if needed, get by with almost none. In fact, a bird’s urine is concentrated into a white solid with almost no liquid, so that it can conserve water.
Water is even more important in the summer when water is hard to find or in winter in cold climates where water sources may be frozen. Small birds need water at least twice a day. Most seed eating birds have more of a dry diet and need water more often than insect eating birds that can acquire hydration through the consumption of insects. Since birds lose water through respiration and their droppings, it is important that we help provide birds with fresh clean water each day. This may be even more important than providing food!
So, how can we help?
We can help by offering several sources of fresh clean water through the use of bird baths, water dishes, basins or bowls, misters, ponds, waterfalls or streams. For this blog I will only concentrate on some of the offerings that I am able to afford, which is a water bowl, water basin and cascading water fountains.
I offer a water bowl on my feeder pole that only birds can reach. This is a way to allow the birds to drink safely, without fear of predators that may be lurking on the ground. Secondly, I offer a ground water basin. This basin is also a thermostatically controlled heated water basin that won’t freeze in the winter. I also offer three moving water sources, which are a cascading water fountain, a cascading bird bath and a larger water pump type fountain, that has two large containers where the water is recirculated. Lastly, I have a pedestal bird bath with a solar sprayer. These can been seen in our live 24/7 live cams.
Why so many water sources you may ask? Personally, I think that the sound of running water is a large reason for the success of my 24/7 feeder cams, as birds are naturally attracted to the sound of running water. It is not easy to find water with all the thick foliage during three seasons of the year. My relatively loud running water sources make it much easier to locate both through sound and visually through ripples on the water. Also, running water draws less mosquitos and has less ability to stagnate since the water is constantly moving.
What do you mean by fresh clean water?
Streams, rivers lakes and ponds have an advantage over small collections of water in that there is the movement of the water. Small collections of still water, if left on their own can stagnate. This is stagnation process is accelerated when solid materials are deposited in the water such as bird seed, bird deposits or leaves and other deposits from trees. Even water on its own can grow algae, especially if offered in areas that get a lot of sunlight.
In my ground water basin, I get raccoons that like to drink and to wash their hands in this water source. Consequentially, there is a lot of food pieces in this water source. If not replaced, it can be water carrying harmful disease or bacterial pathogens. that can help spread disease among the birds. Just this year there was a huge problem with salmonella and Pine Siskins in most areas of the country. Disease quickly spreads among flocking birds such as these birds. Also, mold, if present, can be deadly to birds. Cleanliness of the water and the source container is critical to a bird’s heath.
So, how do we circumvent some of these obstacles so that we can provide the birds with fresh clean water? First thing every morning, I replace the water in the water bowl and the ground water basin. When I am there, I empty the existing water and using a stiff bristled brush scrub each container, and rinse with the fresh water between scrubs. Here is a clip of my cleaning of the ground water basin:
Cleaning of the Water Basin
When I am satisfied with its cleanliness of both the water basin and the water bowl, I pour the fresh clean water into the bowl and the ground basin. A tip on doing this properly is not to dip the brush in the fresh water or you will contaminate the fresh water source as well. Also, wash your brush thoroughly before putting it up for use again later.
Also, don’t forget to check all your water sources, including bird baths and fountains. Bird baths, that are also vessels of still water can quickly accumulate algae and debris such as bird deposits and matter falling from trees. Fountains, containing small collecting areas can also collect debris that needs to be removed. Be sure and change out the water every week or so.
In conclusion, offering fresh clean water is critical to a bird’s health and will help you attract more birds to your feeder. Thanks for dropping by don’t forget to subscribe if you would like to know when more information is available in these blogs. An even better idea is to click on the RSS Feed link, which will automatically send you a copy of this blog each time a new post is made.
Also, please feel free to leave a comment on ideas or best practices that you incorporate. Thanks for your input!
Enjoy God’s creation!
