Water Drip

I usually appreciate a good project, and if it involves recycled materials - even better.
So, during these hot days I noticed that the birds around our parking lot were panting. With a little scrounging I pulled together materials to make a water drip for the thirsty birds.

Here's the finished project - juice jug hung by scrap of rope from plant hanger with food storage container below.

I placed the planter stand out of the way of the lawnmowers, but let's face it, the grass ain't exactly leaping out of the ground when it's this dry!

 Puncture the bottom of jug with a sharp object - the hole should be pretty small!

 Tie rope around neck of the bottle in a secure fashion.

 I filled the jug with water from our dehumidifier - now there's recycling.

 Jug hanging from planter with container below to catch the drips and hold a small quantity of water.

With the cap screwed on tightly, no water will drip.  Loosen the cap incrementally until an occasional drip falls to the pan below.

 Perfect!  It's the motion of the splashing water that attracts the birds.

Clumps of sod left by the landscapers were useful to push up against the tub, and an additional rock makes a stable perch to enable smaller birds to reach the water.  Ideally, a larger, shallower pan, with perhaps a rock island would have been best, but as I said, these were all materials at hand!

I hung this device Wednesday lunchtime.  By the end of the work day all of the water had dripped from the jug (too rapid a flow).  This morning (Friday) I observed a robin drinking from the tub - couldn't get my camera out in time to capture it.  But then the robin stayed around, and was clearly pulling worms from the soil around the tub - the overflow of water had dampened the soil enough to encourage underground activity!