Water is an essential habitat basic. Here are some water-related topics in our landscape:
- The creatures who use and enjoy our water resources
- Our birdbaths
- Our pond and stream including:
- Creating the pond and stream
- Maintaining the pond and stream
- How the pond and stream has evolved
- Our wildlife pond including:
- Creating our wildlife pond
- Water in winter
Why creatures need water
Water is essential for drinking and bathing — and even for some species as a source of mud for building nests.
For drinking
Just like us, wildlife needs water to drink. This shallow section of our stream has been popular.
A lot of birds seem to prefer standing on stones to get a drink rather than standing in the water itself.
Unlike most birds, doves drink with their heads down and bills in the water.
For bathing
Just like us, wildlife needs water for bathing. And for birds, this is important as a way for keeping their feathers in working condition.
We designed part of our stream to be wide and shallow so that there would be appropriate place for a variety of wildlife. We also created sections of the stream to have different depths and rates of moving water.
Some bird species prefer one area to another, and it’s always a busy place.
It attracts lots of birds: robins, goldfinches, catbirds, blue jays, mourning doves, and warblers to name just a few (as well as house sparrows, European starlings, and grackles, unfortunately).
Robins seem to be especially fond of bathing for some reason. They’re there all the time.
Birds, especially smaller birds such as this chickadee, also bathe in our wildlife pond.
For mud
Here’s our “bog,” which is connected to the stream. Although we initially created this mini-bog to grow moisture-loving plants, it unexpectedly turned out to be more valuable as a source of mud (though failing as an actual bog).
Many robins visit this area throughout the nesting season to collect mud to build their nests in our yard — and beyond.
Some bees also need mud to build their nests, but we haven’t noticed whether they’re getting mud from our ponds. They’re definitely getting it somewhere since some of our bee houses had mud caps on some of their nesting cells. When we think about it, we realized how little of this essential nesting material is available in the suburbs, which consist mostly of asphalt, hardscaping, and lawn.
For humans
Water is a basic habitat need for humans, too!
Though we don’t use our water features for drinking or bathing, the presence of the sight and sound of water resonates with the human soul.
Our rainfall through the spring, summer, and fall 2023
APRIL – April 16: 1-1/8″, April 23: 2-1/4″, April 30: 5/8″ = Average 1-1/8″/week
MAY – May 7: 0″, May 14: 1/4″, May 21: 0″, May 28: 0″ = Average 0″/week
JUNE – June 4: 0″, June 11: 3″, June 18: 1″, June 25: 2-3/4″ = Average 1-5/8″/week
JULY – July 2: 5/8″, July 9: 1″, July 16: 1″, July 23: 2-3/4″, July 30: 1/4″= Average 3/4″/week
AUGUST – Aug 6: 2-3/4″, Aug 13: 1/2″, Aug 20: 1/4″, Aug 27: 1/4″ = Average 1″/week
SEPT. – Sept 3: 1-3/4″, Sept 10: 3/4″, Sept 17: 1/4″, Sept 24: N/A = Average 7/8″/week
OCTOBER – Oct 1: 3/4″,
Resources
- Penn State Extension:
- Ecological Landscape Alliance:
- Strategies to protect vernal pools in the built environment – These temporary wetlands provide unique, essential habitat
- National Wildlife Federation blog:
- USDA Forest Service:
- Humane Gardener:
- NY Times:
Reflections
I have left almost to the last the magic of water, an element which owing to its changefulness of form and mood and colour and to the vast range of its effects is ever the principal source of landscape beauty, and has like music a mysterious influence over the mind.
~ Sir George Sitwell, On the Making of Gardens, 1909