Water Stations
For Small Beings
Water Stations – It is so easy to do small things for little beings that have a huge impact. Today in Toronto it is about 43 degrees celsius with the humidex factor added. Most birds, small animals and insects who live in a city have no ready access to water. Many die on days like this from dehydration. Field mice, squirrels, honey bees, bumble bees, wasps and dragonflies are all suceptible.
On Wednesday I posted a photo on my groups on Facebook, of a small water station I set up for bees. It is really simple. I got a bowl from the kitchen, added some shiny stones I had in the house, and filled it to the brim with fresh, really cold water. I put it on the table in my garden. Wasps arrived within minutes, bees followed and a little mouse had a long drink in the late afternoon. The post on Facebook was seen by over 5000 people and shared over 30 times. Other people will have followed suit and set up a water station in their garden.
This inspired me to look in my storage room to see what else I had that could be used as water stations for larger birds and animals. I had a hanging metal basket, the bottom dish of a broken flower pot, a bag of small rocks from some long ago garden decoration, and an old bird feeding dish.
These have now been repurposed as water sources for my garden. My second water station is sitting on a garden bench and is perfect for larger birds and squirrels. I have a feeling that raccoons will come at night to drink, and then play with the stones, probably tossing them on the ground. Adding the rocks allows a dragonfly to land and drink without getting its wings wet.
My third water station was easy to make. I put the bottom of the flower pot inside the metal hanging basket, added stones and hung it on a hook in my pergola. A pitcher of cold water and bingo – another water station that hangs, perfect for birds who are leery of landing in lower places. If you add a hanging station in a place where there is protective greenery, some birds appear to feel safer than closer to the ground.
The birds and insects came almost immediately. A steady stream of visitors during the last few hours. I wonder if they can smell the water? In the course of my day, this wsas an easy thing to do. It means everything to small beings who are desperately in need of a drink. I hope you’ll consider setting up some water stations on your porch, balcony, deck or in your garden. They save little lives and cost nothing. Good deed done today – check!
