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Cool, Cool Water

Like most backyard bird watchers, I feel that keeping a supply of fresh water on hand is a year-round commitment. But in the summer months this commitment carries a few extra challenges. With a constant progression of birds taking baths, their splashing can deplete the water level in no time, and in 90-degree-plus heat it doesn't take long for water temperatures to become quite uncomfortable, even in the shade.

During the heat wave last summer, I began replenishing my birdbaths with ice cubes. How time-consuming! It was then that I realized that my air conditioner, with its constant supply of cool water accumulating from the condensation coils, offered me a better solution.

For years, this condensation had dripped from a foot-long plastic tube, onto the ground, right next to the foundation of the house. Using an inexpensive coupling and ten feet of extra tubing, I extended this line out into my yard on a slight downward plane. Then I secured it to the ground with a couple of U-shaped pieces of coat-hanger wire. A large dish was placed under the tube to collect the dripping water, and a smaller dish was placed below that to catch the overflow. The final overflow from the smaller dish seeps into the ground and waters my dogwood tree.

I worried at first that the water might include some harmful substance, such as freon (used to help cool the air). Both my air conditioner repairman and the unit's manufacturer assured me that the water created by condensation does not come into contact with any coolant inside the unit.

It took only a day for the birds to discover this new oasis, and they soon competed for the chance to refresh themselves on hot summer days. To my pleasant surprise, the damp ground below the dishes also provides butterflies with a "puddling" area during times of drought.

As long as my air conditioner is running, I can now offer my birds a self-replenishing supply of cool water, and it's absolutely free!