Create Your Own Wildlife Nook: A Step-by-Step Guide with Watering Hole
If you build it, they will come…A little over a decade ago, I started transitioning my garden from a place where I grew things, into my own field of dreams. I wanted my gardens to be the place to bee (wink wink).
So I began to create an environment that beckoned to birds, bees, butterflies, frogs, snakes and every other critter and creature about our woods. Slowly, one-by-one, they began to come. With each passing year, as my gardens grew in size and lure, more and more visitors came. Today, our woods are so alive and vibrant with so much activity from all our creatures great and small, that I truly feel so honored and fortunate to have such distinguished company come to make their home next to ours.
What makes all of this even better is how easy it is to build your own field of dreams by creating your very own wildlife nook and watering hole. And right now is the perfect time to set up your space as the pollinators and wildlife begin to migrate back to your area.
Creating a spot for your wildlife friends can be as small as simply setting up a tub.
I love a good galvanized tub personally, and add in a few rocks for perching/sun-bathing. Because I’m a big bird nerd, I like to set up these tub watering stations in spots that I can easily sit and gaze at. This tub above is in easy view from our fire pit.
You can also set-up a simple bee bath.
For that, you’ll want to select a shallow container and put either clean smaller rocks or marbles in a single layer across the bottom. Then fill with enough water to just cover the rocks/marbles. Here is mine bee bath from last summer. I did eventually swap our the rocks for marbles as I found it’s easier to clean lots of marbles than scrub lots of small rocks.
One caveat before we dive into the how-to. When adding in a watering hole to your nook, or just adding in a tub of water or bee bath, once it becomes an established spot for birds and pals to visit, they will come to depend on it, especially during very hot days and drought.
During our drought times, when nary a splash of water to be garnered anywhere else, our water tubs were non-stop with activity, so much so that we were refreshing the tubs sometimes twice a day. So, not only committing to providing a continuous supply of fresh water, you’ll also want to be mindful to give those tubs and rocks a good scrub each week to prevent algae and such.
Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Wildlife Nook with Watering Hole
1. Select a Spot: Pick a sheltered, sunny spot that doesn’t get waterlogged. Also select a spot that is safe from predators like your neighborhood kitty who may think you built this nook just for it.
2. Gather Natural Materials: Personally I think this is such a fun part of the process, because you essentially are making use of materials that may not have otherwise be considered useful…like old rotted logs or shards of terracotta pots. Here are my go to materials:
• Wood—I gather wood of all sorts from decaying logs to twigs and branches. The wood provides a happy home to many insects and smaller creatures who use it for shelter.
• Stone—These are primarily for our amphibian friends. Fun fact: did you know that Maine has tree frogs? Sure I was well aware of all the other kinds of frogs and toads around here, but for so long I always equated tree frogs to those brightly colored cuties you see in the Amazon. How cool is it that we get our own cuties, like this Gray Tree Frog here who’s one of our main garden visitors.
• Clay—Those broken pieces of terracotta pots become perfect shady dwellings for many of our little friends, especially on super hot days. I place some of these “huts” of sorts in clusters, just making sure that they’re fairly secure and won’t tumble over when a friend enters in.
• Dried Leaves—I recommend placing the leaves in a semi-secured area so they don’t blow about. Your can build a little stone or log wall around them or simply place some in a bottomless pot. Dried leaves provide a great hideaway for many insects.
• Stalks from last summer’s flowers—I gather up my sunflower stalks and cut into foot long segments and stack them in an area for pollinators to nap in. Pending what’s hanging about during spring cleanup, I also toss in stalks from other perennials nearby.
3. Provide Water: Now here’s where you can get as elaborate or as simple as you’d like. You can dig out a little pond, line it and fit it properly enough so much so you could introduce fish into it. Or, you can submerge an 8-gallon plastic black tub for a super quick install. If looking to establish a “proper” pond that’ll self-clean, you’ll want to incorporate some aquatic plants.
I have three different kinds of water stations. I have a bee bath, a few bird watering tubs and a frogs and friends tub (that’s the lower oven tub in the photo). While I’m going to try to place three aquatic plants in the tub, I designed it so that I can easily lift the tub out to clean and refresh without any of the surrounding infrastructure tumbling about. The tub sits on a slab of slate, so it easily can be lifted out as needed. But to make sure my friends have easy access, I built stepping stones for them to climb. For your bird pal’s water, consider adding in a solar fountain which helps keep the water moving, and gives the birds a little Singing in the Rain moment.
Go Native: Once you found your idea nook location and you’ve decided it’s something you’d like to keep fairly permanently, consider adding in some native plants as a border. Check out your state’s listing for what’s native (and not invasive) in your area, and select a variety to incorporate into your wildlife area. For extra bonus visitors, choose a berry-producing bush for birds galore.
Here’s to a wonderful wildlife corner creation! Having this valuable little nook helps not only your local critters, it also provides you non-stop wonder and enjoyment at having a sneak peek into the magical world of all the creatures all about you. So make sure to find a good sitting spot to kick back and soak it all in.