Water the birds please.

If you soak a patch of ground that is in a shaded area, butterflies and bees will flock to it for a drink. My hose leaks a little and there is always a small puddle on my concrete patio in the shade and the birds and butterflies are always in there having a drink. I went to move my hose reel and to my surprise a toad had seat up shop. I guess he was in there keeping cool and eating the bugs. I also have a toad that lives in my front flower bed. We have had toads and baby toads every year since the house was built in 2009. I consider them good luck and they eat alot of bugs. The wasps have been terrible this year too. I have killed too many to count. They have gotten so bad that they will actualy tap the glass in the patio door if you shut it hard enough. I just wonder what the asian beetles will be like this fall?

I would just like to add an observation that I have noticed for the first time this year...with the weather, no surprise. Being kind of an avid birder I observed for the first time bird eggs around my yard and others. Then a Robin that built a nest near my deck abandoned it before the babies were born. I appears as though there are fewer baby birds imho as well. Usually see quite a few...not this year. Most birders know you can do this, but I thought would share. N. Vilas County is where you can hand feed Chickadees....around Madison I have to slowly move the seed inside to the kitchen table, where the 2 and 4 year old GK's get to dine with them. They get a kick out of it as do I.

Has anyone else noticed a lot more bees hangin' around their bird baths too? Every time I go out on the deck, there are at least a dozen bees, of various kinds, hangin on the rim of the bird bath. It must be dry if the bees can't find enough water!!

I'm doing my best to help out the critters too Heavens. I fill my bird bath and feeders religiously with this stinkin' weather goin' on. I don't even mind the pesky squirrel hangin' out for eats and drink.

I have tried to repeat the wildflower garden I had last year. Not good. The deer have a lick out back and I fill the bird bath in the evening but the deer drink it overnight so now I fill it twice a day. The deer have even eaten the leaves off of the Sunflowers to get moisture.

The birds are good here, the water is clean and fresh.

I keep food and water out year round for my birds. I have bought a mister that hooks up to the end of the hose and puts out a fine mist. The birds love it and use it to cool off. You can get it at Duncraft.com I have noticed that the butterflies are attracted to my sprinkler also. With it being so dry for so long,the birds and butterflies will flock to any water source that is availble.

My wife and stepkids are not reallly attuned to nature,yet even they noticed the numbers of birds in my small vegatable garden after watering....We don't have a birdbath but after noticing the birds I did place a large pan of water in the middle of the garden.

It is so dry that when I pull weeds from the garden and toss them over the fence, the rabbits come to get some green .

Sprinkler is on my garden every other night or so and the birds bathe in the puddles and some just like flying thru. I'm sure they can manage without our help tho... The lakes and rivers still have water if worst came to worst. But I'm sure they dont mind the added assistance we are providing.

I've been noticing the same thing here. Our variety of bird feeders seem to go empty in a day or two, and I've watched and verified one weekend that it was just a lot of birds visiting the feeder.