Backyard water features offer important nesting and breeding sites for birds. Many bird species require a source of water in order to build and maintain their nests, and the presence of water can also help to attract potential mates. By providing a water source in your backyard, you may be able to help support the growth and development of new bird populations in your area.
Water sources are especially important during times of the year when food resources may be stretched thin, such as during winter months (if you add a heater to your water feature), periods of drought, or nesting season. In addition to providing birds with essential water resources, backyard water features like bird bubblers create habitat for insects and other small organisms that birds depend on for food.
Audible water features will also draw migrating birds to your backyard for a pit stop. You’ll see many more species of birds in your backyard if you add a place for them to drink!
The cheapest way to create a water feature is by using a birdbath. You can birdbaths and water agitators (that create bubbling sounds to attract birds) at places like Amazon or the Front Range Birding Company. Bird baths need to be wiped out once a week.
A much lower-maintenance option is a “bird bubbler” or “bubble rock” – a buried container that pumps water up to a tiny fountain or pool before it trickles back into the container. These often need maintenance only once every 6 months – or once a decade, if you have a good filtration system! The downside is that water features like this can get very expensive.
RLD has partnered with an experienced ecological water feature creator, Dave Krug, to create an affordable ($200-300), upcycled, low-maintenance bird bubbler for our clients. It is built from a 50-gallon recycled barrel that pumps water up into a pot. The water trickles down from the tilted pot into a bed of gravel, and from there returns to the buried drum. The bottom of the drum has an exit pipe, so all you have to do to clean the bubbler is to overfill it.
You can plug the bubbler into an outdoor outlet or solar panel; swap the basic pot and gravel for your choice of vessel and stones; and/or add an aquatic plant to the pot if you’d like. We can also use water from your downspout to naturally fill the barrel!
Check out this video of the bubbler in action.
Dave can also design a custom water feature for your backyard! If you’re interested in either option, contact us.