[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s summertime and birds need all the help they can get.
This is a great time to offer some sort of water feature to our feathered friends, whether it be a simple basin of cool water or a fancy circulating fountain with pool.
A plain, sturdy birdbath is hard to beat, just make sure it is heavy enough not to tip over easily. My own concrete birdbath is very sturdy. In fact, I recently saw a fox standing in it, lapping up water. Birds and deer also partake on a regular basis.
What can you do to make summer a happy season for birds? Here are five tips:
Keep your pet cat indoors. Cats love to kill birds, it’s just their natural instinct.
Cut down on pesticide use and never use so-called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” as they are deadly to wildlife.
Leave some grass un-mowed and tall for ground-nesting birds, and don’t clean up all brush piles since they provide excellent bird habitat.
Keep your hummingbird feeders filled with fresh sugar-water.
Be tolerant of bird nests around your home, even those mud daubs used by swallows. Many birds will be leaving in a few short weeks as fall brings cooler weather.
Birds reward us with cheerful, tuneful songs and are beautiful in the bargain. The least we can do is set out a dish of water.
