I've been rather lax about keeping water out for the birds this summer; although I water the plants every day, and most of them have big saucers underneath where water collects for several hours. I have often seen the birds drinking in those. Today I put a big pan under the old flowering cherry tree and filled it with two gallons of fresh water. The birds came in droves. At one time I counted nine all drinking together. They came all afternoon. So, I made a drip waterer for them on the patio, sat in the swing and waited to see what would happen. They loved it, maybe better, because they could splash around in it. I sat quietly for over an hour just watching them and enjoying the cool shade, the comfortable swing, and one of the last days of summer.
