Birds need water every minute of every
day, all year long. Especially when it’s
hot or cold out! Since they also need to fly, they can’t store water in body
fat like most animals. They must constantly get water either in its liquid form
or as a component of the food they eat. Since birds live an active life, they
lose water at a rapid rate. The smaller a bird is, the greater its daily water
loss.
Since a big part of water loss is
due to the air temperature, north Texas birds need A LOT of clean water, all
year long. In the summer, a birdbath is essential.
In warm weather, a small, inexpensive
“dunk” floating in the birdbath kills mosquitoes, but won’t harm birds or pets
at all.
If you’re planning to put out a birdbath, remember that birds frighten
easily. They’re small and (except for a few species) swim poorly. They shy away
from water that’s more than 2½-3 inches deep.
Birds also prefer a bath with a gradually sloping bottom, instead of a
sudden drop to the birdbath’s full depth.
Birds
want a quick ”escape route” in case a hawk or some other predator gets close.
Putting the birdbath next to shrubs or overhanging tree limbs is good. Setting
the bath in the middle of a plain lawn makes it doubtful that many birds will
use it.
Dead trees
or “snags”
Many kinds of Texas
birds are ”cavity-nesters”, such as bluebirds, titmice, wrens, cave swallows
and chickadees. They make their homes and raise young in the hollows of dead
trees and limbs (often in old woodpecker hole). Insects in the dead bark are an
important food source for nuthatches and chickadees. So if you don’t like the looks of a dead tree
(and it’s not in danger of falling on your house) think about just growing a
vine on it. In our “Cross Timbers” area,
try a coral honeysuckle, passion vine or Virginia creeper.
Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus
from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is a member of the American Society of
Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the
National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon
Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant
Society of Texas. His design office is at birdpoop@charter.net
