Hi Scott and All, The waterfall we put in is very basic. Somewhere I have a picture and I can send it off list if anyone is interested. I mounded dirt to about 3ft high. My husband and I went around the property collecting flat stones. I built the waterfall on top of the mound mimicking stair treads. We had it spill into a large roundish stone that had a natural shallow (ankle deep) depression in the center so tiny birds can bathe safely. At the edge of that stone I had dug a hole and placed a commercial bucket (don't remember the gallon size) for the water to collect in. This is where I placed the pump which then pumped the water to the top of the waterfallby using tubing. One of our volunteers then made a cover out of cement and stone to place over the bucket, make sure it is light enough to move easily. The bucket does collect debris(leaves,dirt) and the water does need to be changed as needed . During hot weather algae grows and the waterfall stones and bathe need to be cleaned as well. It took me an entire day by myself to get it done and functioning. When my husband returned home though I asked for some help. Getting the right slope on the waterfall is not so easy. I had problems getting the water to flow forward, and not back or off the sides. The next day we also took some cement and made some stone edges so water would not go off the sides, and cemented all the connections where stone met stone, and also cemented the ground from the bath edge to the sunk bucket. All it cost was a small bag of cement, a pump, tubing and one day of labor for me. The waterfall is in a corner of picket fence surrounded by arrowwood viburnum and tea viburnums, kolkwitzia and weigela, so there is plenty of cover, plus a fothergilla growing behind it at the top of the mound. Last summer I counted 6 orioles there, a family I'm sure, but there was also an oriole feeder there as well. I have seen american redstart, chestnut sided warbler, wilson warbler, and yellow warbler to name a few, and last fall I had yellow rumps visiting it daily 3-4 at a time. Hummingbirds also visit, bathing in the shallow water that runs over the stones. It was well worth it! Jayne Amico/Southington www.therecoverywing.org ---- Scott Kruitbosch <kbosch@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello Jayne and all: > > This is a great discussion, thanks to everyone for the thoughts and links. > But to Jayne specifically - hearing about the waterfall you installed near > your feeders peaked my interest.

To those who like to play in the water: My backyard "lawn" was a nuisance, and is now a native garden with a wonderful running water pool. I scooped out a square 12' by 12' area into four quadrants, "bowls," 4 feet across, 14" deep. Two of the adjacent quadrants area foot higher than the other two adjacent quadrants. A 12' by 12' heavy plastic pool liner covers the entire area (and has now lasted 15 years without leakage problems). It is landscaped and none of the plastic shows under the rocks and peat moss and plantings. Water flows from a small tunnel of rocks into the upper right quadrant, then down to the lower left quadrant over another small waterfall (6"). These two "bowls" are lined with flat stones, some overhanging enough to hide the submersible pump. The other two "bowls" are filled with peat and planted with native wetland shrubs (ferns, blueberry, swamp azalea, pussy willow, marsh marigold, wild iris, etc.). This large square holds enough water when it rains so that I only occasionally have to fill it. In addition, I run the water from my roof gutters underground through hoses to the pool to decrease the need for artificial watering of my pool and rain garden. In addition to the birds you all have mentioned, I am delighted by having spotted salamander eggs for the last few years in this pool and a large variety of damselflies and dragonflies that lay their eggs in and around the pool. Pond lilies (spatterdock) in a pot don't spread, and keep the water clear of eutrophication. I use a small to medium sized pump - just enough to get a steady small trickle, not a gush, over the falls. One day, I hope to have it all on a solar panel, so I won't feel guilty about the electricity. But it isn't a heavy duty pump, just an inexpensive home aquarium pump. Use larger tubing so it is less likely to clog with algae in the warm summer months, and screen the pump intake well to keep debris from clogging it (any left-over scrrening material will do). In the deepest of winter the warmth of the pump keeps a slight flow going most of the time, but it is easy enough to just turn it off if it freezes up, then plug it back in with a thaw. It is a true pleasure, and takes minimal care a few times a year. The most amazing thing is the number of native volunteer wetland plant species that have appeared over the years (possibly from bird droppings, or wind-blown, or carried in with the transplanted ferns and wildflowers). David Bingham, Salem ----- Original Message ----- From: <recoverywing@cox.net> To: <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 7:51 PM Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Bird-scaping > Hi Scott and All, > > The waterfall we put in is very basic. Somewhere I have a picture and I > can send it off list if anyone is interested. I mounded dirt to about 3ft > high. My husband and I went around the property collecting flat stones. I > built the waterfall on top of the mound mimicking stair treads. We had it > spill into a large roundish stone that had a natural shallow (ankle deep) > depression in the center so tiny birds can bathe safely. At the edge of > that stone I had dug a hole and placed a commercial bucket (don't remember > the gallon size) for the water to collect in. This is where I placed the > pump which then pumped the water to the top of the waterfallby using > tubing. One of our volunteers then made a cover out of cement and stone to > place over the bucket, make sure it is light enough to move easily. The > bucket does collect debris(leaves,dirt) and the water does need to be > changed as needed . During hot weather algae grows and the waterfall > stones and bathe need to be cleaned as well. > > It took me an entire day by myself to get it done and functioning. When my > husband returned home though I asked for some help. Getting the right > slope on the waterfall is not so easy. I had problems getting the water to > flow forward, and not back or off the sides. > > The next day we also took some cement and made some stone edges so water > would not go off the sides, and cemented all the connections where stone > met stone, and also cemented the ground from the bath edge to the sunk > bucket. > > All it cost was a small bag of cement, a pump, tubing and one day of > labor for me. > > The waterfall is in a corner of picket fence surrounded by arrowwood > viburnum and tea viburnums, kolkwitzia and weigela, so there is plenty of > cover, plus a fothergilla growing behind it at the top of the mound. > > Last summer I counted 6 orioles there, a family I'm sure, but there was > also an oriole feeder there as well. I have seen american redstart, > chestnut sided warbler, wilson warbler, and yellow warbler to name a few, > and last fall I had yellow rumps visiting it daily 3-4 at a time. > Hummingbirds also visit, bathing in the shallow water that runs over the > stones. > > It was well worth it! > > Jayne Amico/Southington > www.therecoverywing.org > > ---- Scott Kruitbosch <kbosch@gmail.com> wrote: >> Hello Jayne and all: >> >> This is a great discussion, thanks to everyone for the thoughts and >> links. >> But to Jayne specifically - hearing about the waterfall you installed >> near >> your feeders peaked my interest. > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) > for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit > http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >