Liven Up Your Backyard With Wildlife and Water Ponds

Your backyard could become a natural haven for birds and even a small paradise for wildlife. How can you attract these creatures of nature to be part of your backyard? Simple, provide a watering hole for them. Water is just as essential to these creatures as it is to humans. Birds and small animals need water for drinking and keeping themselves cool during hot summer months. If you have enough space in your backyard, try creating a small backyard pond that could provide them the water they need. Another alternative is to install a small bird bath where birds could gather around. Bird Baths Making a bird bath could be as simple as putting a small pie tin somewhere and filling it with water. If you want something fancier, you could buy a pre-fabricated one or create one using cement and fiberglass. Ideally, you would need the water to be no deeper than 3 inches to allow the birds easy access, without the danger of them drowning. Add a piece of wood or metal where they could perch. If you want your bird bath to have running water, you could use a garden hose and let water drip gradually into the bath. Even during winter, you could attract more birds into your backyard by filling your birdbath with warm water. You could use commercial heaters that are customized for bird baths to keep the water warm. It would surely be a haven for birds trying to keep warm on a cold winter day. Remember to put your bird bath in a place that you could view from your window, but somewhere safe from potential predators such as cats. Small Backyard Ponds You could also provide water for wildlife by installing small backyard ponds. Choose a spot that is exposed to the sun that could encourage plants to grow. Line up the pond with artificial liners such as plastic or use a pre-fabricated shell made of fiberglass. You could also try using a washtub or a child's wading pool lined with black plastic that could make the pond look more natural and at the same time prevent water from leaking. Choose a location for the pond that can be seen from your window. It should be close to a water supply so that you could easily use a garden hose for refilling the pond with water. If you plan to use aerators or pumps, make sure to position the pond near an electrical outlet. Make a hole from the ground that is about the same shape and size of the liner. A good size of backyard ponds would be about 10 ft. long and 2-5 ft. wide. You could increase the depths from several inches to a few feet to provide more space for wildlife to move. Aquatic Plants Add soil over your liner and start adding aquatic plants. You could also submerge potted water plants in areas within the pond. Put rocks or pieces of wood around these plants to prevent them from tipping. To make the pond look more natural, scatter some flat rocks, stones and wood along the edges of the plastic liner. You could also add a small gravel beach that would have the grits that birds need to digest food. Rocks and logs on the pond are also perfect perches for turtles. It would be better to use tap water for your pond, rather than well water. Let the water stand for about a week to remove the chlorine and other minerals. Aquatic plants could also grow naturally from bird's droppings or by adding muck from another wetland. It may take some creativity and dedication to keep your pond well maintained, but it will be worth your time, once you see it turning into a beautiful oasis for wildlife.