Giving birds water over summer
For animals a hot and dry summer can be a very difficult for birds.
Please put water out for the birds in your garden whenever it’s dry for more
than a couple of days. Generally we recommend leaving birds to find food and water
themselves, but if the summer is very hot and dry, we recommend giving them a
hand with water.
Lack of water means severe thirst for birds, and severe hunger too, because key food sources (small insects, plants with seeds etc) will die off.
Lack of water means severe thirst for birds, and severe hunger too, because key food sources (small insects, plants with seeds etc) will die off.
Please keep in mind:
- Use a container that’s fairly shallow and wide with an edge to perch on e.g. an old roasting pan.
- Place the container in an open space, well away from shrubs, hedges etc where cats might hide.
- Make sure you clean and disinfect the water container each day before refilling it – this is very important as unwashed containers can spread diseases among birds. A quick scrub with a dollop of some strong cleaner like Janola will do the trick (rinse it well afterwards).
- In addition, if possible, please keep an area of garden – ideally somewhere with a good range of plants of various heights – well watered, by putting a sprinkler on for 10-15 min every other evening. This will create a cool, thriving ‘oasis’ that will be a draw card for birds, as well as insects, which the birds will eat.
