By Gail Cochrane

Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

Here in the desert, water means everything.  Whether it’s in a professionally installed pond or a simple dish, providing fresh clean water is among the best things you can do to help wildlife.  Many folks from the ranks of Liberty Wildlife staff and volunteers have a water feature of some sort in their yard. Everyone seems to get lots of avian traffic at their watering place, and the mystique of a water garden is not lost on us humans either.  Enjoy!

Jody Johnson says: Birdbaths are essential for any yard. I live in Ahwatukee and in my front, side and back yards I have 8 birdbaths.  My favorite birdbath moment was when I glanced out my patio door and saw this visitor…

Melissa Okimoto: I had my little pond installed in 2019 and it’s been amazing – the sound of the falls is soothing and it has been a magnet for bird and insect life.  The sparrows and finches bathe in the shallow stream, while grackles like to dowse themselves in the falls.  The doves stop over from the feeders to wash down their seeds, and the hummingbirds zip around above it catching gnats.  During the heat of the summer, the grackle parents will often leave their babies at the pond, while they go out foraging and the inquisitive young will splash in the water and pull at the plants.  Blue damselflies dance above it in courtship, while spiders string their webs across it.  Even the honeybees appreciate its refreshing waters.

Mare Van Dyke: Among four-and-twenty blackbirds, white-winged doves, and invasive peach-faced lovebirds, we’ve been gifted with a large flock of Cedar Waxwings that stayed 3 days. Lesser Goldfinches and Gilded Flickers visit daily, and a Cooper’s Hawk lights for a drink now and again. Our water feature involves a buried pond with a circulating pump as well as a singular bowl. Regular cleaning keeps it fresh for our visitors.

Genny Moran: We have a fountain in our backyard which is usually visited by hummingbirds, finches, sparrows, and grackles. But we were able to get a few pictures of this roadrunner stopping by for a cooling drink. I like that the fountain has different levels that fit the needs of different sized birds.

Eliz Linser: I began by filling my dog’s dish for her, but saw the visiting songbirds, perching, and dipping to get a drink when visiting the feeders. I added a large clay pot tray so that some could walk into the water and added a birdbath for those who feel more comfortable higher up, and perhaps a full body bath.   Today’s visitors, in that portion of my yard include Inca, mourning and white-winged doves, pigeons, house sparrows, house finches, verdin, Anna’s hummingbird, peach-faced lovebirds, greater-tailed grackles, curved-bill thrasher, Gila woodpecker, and as you will see, perched on the bath pedestal, is a brown-headed cowbird.   I live downtown Phoenix, several miles from Liberty Wildlife.