Hi ALL
i'm thinking of making a small pond not for fish just for frogs and birds to drink in maybe out of a old washing up bowl? But i'm not sure
Could someone give me some advice please on how to make it and what with ect?
I have a small pond (water garden) on my rooftop terrace (actually it's inside right now because of the cold but will go out again in March). It's a plastic washtub with two goldfish, some anacharis (underwater plant), dwarf papyrus, a canna, and a horsetail plant. I had some small floating plants but the fish eat them, and it's too cold for water hyacinths here. I've had it for over a year and a half, and the birds do drink from it, mostly Grackles; bees and butterflies also drink from it. The goldfish, besides adding color and interest, eat any mosquito nymphs or other insects on the pond. I also leave trays of water for the birds' drinking and bathing, and the smaller birds tend to use those. The grackles actually use both the tub and the trays of water.
Maintenance consists of siphoning out a bucketfull of water every day or two (I use the tube to vacuum up the debris on the bottom) and replacing with fresh water (left standing overnight to let any chlorine, on the off chance they actually chlorinated the water, evaporate). The water from the pond goes on my potted plants. I also feed the fish occasionally, especially when they are inside and fewer insects fall on the water.
Now that the garden is inside, I keep another tub of water on the terrace for the Grackles; they drink and bathe from it (although they also use the trays) plus it is convenient for me to scoop water out and water my potted plants. I use the water up and replace it with fresh water, and scrub out the tub when it gets brown fuzz growing on the sides.
Everything I have read indicates that it's hard to get frogs to take up permanent residence in a backyard pond, and in any case bullfrogs eat small birds.
I don't know that I would keep the water garden just for the birds, but I enjoy it very much for itself. However, keeping clean water out for the birds has greatly increased their appearance on my roof, and they are getting used to me so I can get good looks at them and watch them bathe (lots of fun). Even during the rainy season, the birds come to bathe and drink from the trays and they have kept my garden plants almost free of caterpillars, which caused major damage before, and reduced the number of aphids I see too!
Let me know if you have other questions!
Helen
