WHAT ?) That is to say they manage to pull moisture from the food they eat . It ’ s pretty incredible , actually . Some animals can even get moisture out of live bark and fallen nuts . Their highly efficient renal systems limit the amount of water needed for survival and some animals even have the ability to dehydrate their own feces before they excrete it . Terribly fascinating stuff . None of which will I retain after this goes to print .
But what I will retain is the knowledge that while many wildlife animals can sustain hydration during the hot dry months metabolically , they cannot do it indefinitely , and absolutely need free water sources to survive . Enter my next article in a series of how we can help our dwindling local wildlife .
In past issues of PLENTY we ’ ve covered the dire need for shelter in the form of wild undergrowth and leaving dead trees to stand ; we ’ ve covered the disastrous consequences of untrained pesticide use on our foraging pollinators , and we ’ ve covered the necessity of the apex predators in the ripar-
A male cardinal enjoys its perch on the edge of a heated birdbath on a winter ’ s day .
ian food chain . But none of these things would be possible without adequate water . For all of it , flora and fauna .
Over the last 150 years , there has been a rapid decrease in natural watering holes , due to forest fragmentation , irrigation , and urbanization / development . Modern urban planning models strive to eradicate standing water , engineering grading to push rainfall into manmade flows and sewers . The logic behind this being that standing water often ushers in the threat of waterborne bacteria and viruses , and , of course , the dreaded mosquito and all the illnesses they might carry in their bites . It also makes flash floods more difficult to mitigate . For this reason , the more urbanization progresses , the less free water is available to sustain wildlife .
Out West where water is scarce , ranchers have learned to keep watering troughs , not just for their livestock , but also for the wildlife . Everything from coyote to bats make use of these purposeful manmade watering holes . Yet here in the mid-Atlantic region where water is more abundant , we haven ’ t focused to such a degree on these things . But maybe now , as I see the fourth day that the humiture has gone over 100 o F without a decent rainfall in sight , is as good a time as any to consider what we as individuals can do on a small scale to help the decreasing free water supply situation .
While I absolutely love manmade ponds with fountains or babbling gurgling water features , I also have no time or energy to maintain such things . But I do have time to fill a birdbath , or put a plant saucer on an old tree stump . As often as I fill the bird feeders , I can rinse out and refill the bird baths , sustaining not only my feathered friends but also other wildlife . Keeping one water saucer on the ground is helpful for the little guys , like chipmunks , rabbits and mice , and the baths on stumps or pedestals are perfect for the bigger critters , like raccoons , fox , and deer .
Its true that if you want to attract birds to your yard , put up a bird feeder . But if you want to support and attract every manner of wildlife , put out a water source . You ’ ll be amazed at what you find in your yard ! But whatever you do , be sure to keep it clean and fresh . Over time , standing water becomes filled with poop , mold , and bacteria which is as deadly to wildlife as it can be for humans . There is , of course , a slight
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