Bird Bath and Watering the Garden

The temperatures have been hovering near 100ºF, 38ºC, for over 6 days now, 105º, 40ºC, Friday alone.  The bird bath that I rescued from an abandon urban garden is the best addition to the garden.  I positioned a dripper over the bird bath.  This dripper, which I run water through sometimes, makes noise which helps to attracts birds.  The bird bath brings more birds to my window than the feeder or flowers.  Cat birds, robins, blue jays, house sparrows, house finches, gold finches, and mourning doves are those that come to the bird bath.  They all come to drink and bathe.

I use a soaking hoses to water the garden.  That attracts birds, also.  The soil was rock hard before I watered using the soaking hoses yesterday.  Once watered the soil was wet and loose.  Worms traveled toward the surface, both to the moisture and from the water, so as not to drown.  With the worms near the surface the robins had a feast.  I recommend getting a water source for the wildlife in your backyard.  A large flat bowl will do as long as the depth is no more than 2" or 50mm with a gradual slope from the greatest depth to the rim.  You will not regret adding a bird bath.

Attracting Gold Finch

I moved the white sock containing black thistle seeds to the post near the breakfast room window, atop which sits the now empty robin nest.  In order to do that I moved the hanging planter of Verbena and Petunias to where the sock hung.  I also had a sock filled with black thistle hung throughout the winter from which the finches will not eat.  I emptied the overwintered sock onto the round patio table in a mound of seed.  I am curious to see if the finches will go through these seeds now that the seeds are easily accessible.  I shook out all of the seeds and turned the sock inside out removing every last seed.  For photographs, the stark white sock is too extreme for the exposures.  I will try to dye the sock brown with tea or coffee then buy some thistle seeds and refill the dyed sock.

I boiled water, placed a tea bag into a stainless steel bowl and submerged the sock.  It doesn't seem to be taking the tea stain.  I also placed about a tablespoon of white vinegar into the bowl as a mordant as done with easter egg dyes.  I will leave the sock submerged overnight.  If the sock has not accepted the stain by then I will add my coffee grounds to the bowl.  If neither of those work, I will spray paint the sock.

I have seen gold finches on the sock but have not had the opportunity to photography any there.  I did capture house finches at the bird bath.  The house finches do not feed from the sock nor do chickadees, nut hatches or titmice.

Male and Female House Finches at bird bath

Close up of Male House Finch at bird bath