- Bird Accessories, Bird Bath, Bird Baths, Birdbaths, Ceramic Bird Baths, Misters and Birdbath Drippers, Uncategorized, Water Wiggler
Add moving water to bird baths
The absolute best way to entice feathered friends is with water. Fresh water will attract birds who may never use a birdhouse or even visit your feeders. Bird baths have got to be the single most effective way to get more species visiting your yard.And if water does the trick so well, think about moving water in your bird baths. It’s an absolute visual magnet for wild birds! If you’re lucky enough to have a pond with fountain or waterfall, or live on a creek, you already know the difference water makes in terms of wildlife-friendly habitat. But if your landscape is dry (like most of us) there are lots of ways to create this moving water. Drippers and water wigglers are wildly popular additions for bird baths, simply because of the all the action they bring. Leaf misters are another great way to create moving water – hummingbirds and especially butterflies love the gentle spray.
Here’s a net trick to make bird baths much more enticing, without spending any money at all! This works best with pedestal bird baths, but may also be adapted for hanging or ground bird baths as well. The bath needs to sit under a tree, as the source of slowly dripping water will come from above. Take a gallon milk jug and poke a pin hole in the lower corner, or bottom. Fill the jug with fresh water and tie it to a sturdy branch that’s at least 3 to 5 feet above the bath. Step away and watch the slow dripping create a visual magnet for your feathered friends! One gallon leaking through a pin hole should last at least 10 days before a refill is needed. The moving water really does attract more birds, plus mosquitoes can not lay eggs in moving water. A great project to try out for spring and summer… Happy Birding!
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butterfly feeders and these!
It may be a little difficult to spot in the photo, but to butterflies that gentle spray from the leaf mister is absolutely irresistible!Versatile for placement almost anywhere in the yard or garden, the rubber tubing is actually wrapped around a simple plant stake here. Our other mister extends over the railing of the front porch, coiled around a metal deck bracket.
The butterfly feeders in this yard are mostly natural. Consisting of host plants, like milkweed, butterflies may feast on nectar from perennial flowers like lantana, trumpet vine, and native hibiscus. There is also a staked glass butterfly feeder, and sometimes we’ll add over-ripened fruit. Melons, bananas, oranges and strawberries are a few of their favorites. The thing with fruit is to be sure it does not mold, which can be tricky in hot and humid Georgia summers. When the glass flower does not contain fruit, it’s easily moved near the leaf mister, and creates a small pool of water. This bath is frequented by the butterflies as well as hummingbirds and other songbirds.
If you’re not having such great success with butterfly feeders alone, definitely try a leaf mister. By creating an enticing butterfly habitat-you’ll be amazed at the bustling activity of these winged jewels!
- Bats & Butterflies, Bird Accessories, Butterfly Houses, Misters and Birdbath Drippers, Uncategorized
cool butterfly houses at the birding show
Last week in Atlanta, the Merchandise Mart hosted its annual gift show, with a whole floor dedicated to backyard birding. Spending a whole day there just wasn’t enough, I felt like a kid in a candy store and wanted everything!Unfortunately, that’s far from possible, so the search was narrowed to very unique birding products, namely one, butterfly houses. Many of the standards were there, in cedar construction from small to large. A few recycled plastic (or poly lumber) butterfly houses were shown in some fab colors.
This one caught my eye however, likely because of the mod curved entrances. The copper accents were nice too, so I inquired. Upon learning these butterfly houses are hand crafted in solid cypress, and included the tall mounting poll, I was pretty much hooked.
At home I don’t have a butterfly house, but last summer there were tons of butterflies. Planting the host plant (milkweed) helped, but the leaf misters are what kept them around daily. Butterflies absolutely love the gentle spray from a leaf mister, whether they really use these houses or not…you can attract them with mist! By the way…Hummingbirds and others really love that mist during summer’s sweltering temperatures too!
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