Water Sources
Wildlife need sources of clean water for many purposes, including drinking, bathing, and reproduction. Water sources may include natural features such as ponds, lakes, rivers, springs, oceans, and wetlands; or human-made features such as bird baths, puddling areas for butterflies, installed ponds, or rain gardens.
The easiest water source to install in your garden is a bird bath. Please be sure to change the water 2-3 times per week during warm weather when mosquitoes are breeding, so that any eggs laid in the water don’t have time to hatch. If you live in a climate with cold winters, consider buying a small heater available at wild bird feeding stores to keep the water from freezing.
Climate change is threatening our sources of clean water by increasing temperatures and reducing rainfall in some areas, causing drought conditions and lower water tables. In other areas, increased rainfall and extreme weather events such as tornadoes and hurricanes cause flooding and erosion of natural ecosystems and can pollute local watersheds. These problems highlight the importance of providing a constant source of clean water for birds, mammals, fish and other wildlife in their different habitats.
Your NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat will provide water for wildlife, and sustainable gardening practices help to ensure that our human demands on water are kept to a minimum.
View the Gardener's Guide to Global Warming.
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