Some time ago, I had a backyard pond, about 15 feet in length, and perhaps 10 feet wide. Along the sides, a flower bed, a fern bed, a water fall, some umbrella plants, in the pond some water lilies. Altogether a pleasant water feature that I enjoyed a lot.
As we prepared our house to sell, the real estate agent suggested the pond would need to go as most folks who might be interested in our property would likely have small children and the parents would be afraid the pond would be a potential hazard. I understood, and removed the pond. I’d had plentyof enjoyment from it, so no worries.
Then, I noticed something. All the birds that had been frequent backyard visitors moved away, the mosquitoes came back and I missed the pleasing sound of the waterfall. So I added a small fountain in the the flower bed to see if that would lure them back.
Some success, but by and large, the numbers were dramatically down. I then started putting some bird feed on a fence board, and the birds slowly began coming back, and taking note of the fountain would stop in for a quick drink.
Doing a quick search on the web, I found a bird feeder plan that I liked on www.MyBackyardPlans.com so printed out the pertinent info, headed into my shop and put several together. Rather than go for decorative painting shown on their project, I went with the rough texture of the cedar fence picket, and put a good heavy coat of clear varnish on it to protect from the weather and seal the wood.
House Sparrows
The feeder has proven to be very popular, with the sparrows the first to fully enjoy the results. A pair of cardinals, some house wrens, and a few others have made regular visits. Mourning doves, white wing doves and blue jays also visit, though usually picking the spoils from what has fallen on the ground.
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