Reminder to leave out fresh water for garden wildlife in hot weather

[OneBusyFinch]

With more hot weather forecast, a bowl or two of water in the garden for wildlife could be a lifesaver.

Shallow dish for hedgehogs (they can’t manage deep water)

Add some stones for bees to climb out if they fall in

Too up morning and evening — it evaporates fast

Bit of shade keeps it cooler for longer

Takes two minutes, makes a massive difference.

Big thank you if you’re already leaving out fresh water!

Thank you!
@PeopleOut @ginasevern @placemats @murasaki @StarPyjamas @Armorlux @TrayBakesAreSweet @Overtheatlantic @GasPanic

I’m enjoying the wildlife stories too 😀

@cheezncrackers meant to add, do you know about Hedgehog Street? You can map your hedgehog sighting there

Visitor check for today so far. my two cats, the black and white thug from over the back somewhere, one pigeon.

Refills: 2

My parents have a stone birdbath that seems to attract quite a few herons. In a major city. Still, keeps my aged dad entertained, and the family WhatsApp full of heron photos.

Little bump

Such a great reminder! I always leave out water for the garden birds and hedgehogs, especially in this heat. Every little helps

Thank you! @hiban

I do all year but that’s for the barn cats and free roaming chickens. I may have to add a shallow one for smaller animals! However we’ve got plenty of dew on the grass this morning and one of the cats would rather chew on a blade of grass than drink the fresh water in a bowl 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thanks for the reminder. I've put out 3 in the shade but visible from the house to remind me to top them up.

Thank you! @Chipsahoy @BruceAndNosh

We've had a shallow one for a couple of years which birds and hedgehogs use, but I have added a large rough seashell now for insects to climb in and out with.

Thank you! @ExquisiteDressing

I have a shallow bowl in my garden. A few weeks ago there was a blackbird who visited for his daily bath. Unfortunately the population of cats seems to have exploded recently and they've taken to hanging out in my garden. I haven't seen any birds using the birdbath for weeks - not even the magpies

@HopeSpringsInfernal I've got 3 different sized 'water stations' at the moment. We were amused this morning by a visiting magpie family: the 2 young ones waited politely for mum/dad to finish bathing before jumping in the same one. Not much water left when they'd finished!
Magpie aren't my favourites but they are handsome,and very good parents.

Our neighbour's cctv caught a hedgehog on it last night which is hopeful. I haven't seen one here for years.

I use a plant pot tray with some bits of terracotta, pebbles and bark in. One of those round shallow dishes you'd put under a plant pot indoors to catch water.

How lucky to have a hedgehog!

I used to put out food and I had 4 different hogs regularly visiting my garden, but a couple of years ago they started to build houses on the fields close to me and I haven't seen any since. Obviously people need houses, but I'm still sad not to have the hogs any more, they're such lovely little creatures. I hope they come back once the builders go

Magpies are maybe not the most popular birds, but they are very intelligent and as you say they are very devoted parents ts

We’re currently away for two weeks and I’m worried sick about our garden hedgehogs. We did leave a large container of water in the shade for them, as well as their usual dishes, but it’s been really hot at home so everything might have dried out by now. Fingers crossed that some of our neighbours will be putting water out.
Thanks for posting this OP.

We have a robin. I mean, we have loads of birds but there is a robin clear training us up as its personal staff.

Last week I was in the kitchen clearing up when this tatty looking little robin hopped in through the open door, and made a beeline for the pastry crumbs where I'd earlier cut up a very crumbly quiche. It completely cleared the crumbs over a few visits, and I thought this is as near as I'll ever get to Snow White and her army of woodland helpers.

Over subsequent days it started getting bolder and got to the point it was coming so far into the house looking for crumbs I should discourage it a bit. So I put a saucer of crumbs and a dish of water just outside the back door.

Yesterday it arrived and found no crumbs, so it hopped into the kitchen and chirped loudly until I came to see what was up and refilled the saucer.

So much for it helping with household chores, it's trained me!

(We also have a pond and various other water sources for the less brazen of our garden wildlife.)

Here are my visitors this morning. I always keep the bucket topped up with fresh water.

The birds are loving it.

Would you give a rat a drink ?
Had this conversation yesterday with a friend. She insists on only having a raised birdbath and I’ve got the plant pot saucers scattered around the garden.
I’m not a fan of rats and have seen the odd one run across the patio but if hedgehogs and birds get a drink then so does a rat.

I have a small terracotta saucer on the pebbles in the border, the birds do sometimes drink out of it but I know we have rats around here and when my security light went off a week or so ago, I saw a small rodent running under the fence. It looked more like a mouse but could have been a rat.

I wouldn't remove the saucer though because of rat(s), it still serves other wildlife.

We have filled an old shallow boot tray behind the garage and also a few plant trays in the front. Hopefully our bird friends and occasional hedgehog visitor have found them.

@Unpaidworkmakestheeconomytick water is for all wildlife, so I agree with you and @Myblueclematis

We have a hedgehog that walks along the side of our house, and somehow squeezes between fence and our paving slabs. Luckily there's a part that's always in the shade enroute, so there's a dish out there, one on most shaded part of grass and we've got a bird bath - forgot to top the latter up last night and it had totally evaporated.

I've put water out (good shout on the stones for bees!! I'd not thought of that so will do it!).
I've also put some sweetcorn cobs out and some de-seeded apple as well as the usual nuts etc.
Another thing to be aware of - please don't just leave apple cores with seeds as the seeds can actually poison some wildlife. I found this out the other day and rushed outside to remove the apple cores so that I could de-seed them,