[Tweeters] Black-headed Grosbeak

[Jim Betz via Tweeters]

Hi,

   Here's what our fountain looks like ...


https://eamon.smugmug.com/Family-pics-from-jim/Birds-and-Stuff-from-Jim/n-4Cw3NF/Birds-Web/i-kCgrcff/A


   A few things for you to notice - first, there is a 'bed of rocks' 
around the base.  Those are covering the

in ground reservoir.  The reservoir is about 3' across and 10-12" deep.  
There is an "auto-fill" valve in the

reservoir that automatically replenishes the water when the sprinkler 
line is charged (timed valve) - think

"like a toilet valve" in terms of how that works.  Those rocks are on 
top of the lid of the reservoir.  Look

carefully at the top of the fountain and you will see the bubble of 
water - it doesn't squirt or spray, it

merely bubbles - that's controlled by a one time setting of a valve 
between the pump and the block of

rock (the fountain).

   To answer Stef - yes, the reservoir does build up algae over time - 
and that eventually plugs the filter

on the intake of the pump.  I have to clean the filter on the pump about 
3 or 4 times a year.  I do not

clean the entire reservoir and when I go to open it up the water in the 
reservoir is clear - not crystal

clear but definitely can see thru it.  If you look again at the picture 
you will notice "green stuff" on

the rock where the water flows down the side (and recycles to the pump) 
... that's the same algae.

   At least one reason why this fountain has so little maintenance is 
the sheer volume of the

reservoir.  The pump is a standard yard fountain pump and I think is 
about a 1/8th horse pump.

Our yard guys dug a hole big enough for the reservoir, put it in and 
back-filled around it.  Then

they put the lid (top) on the reservoir after installing all of the 
hardware (pump, re-fill valve, etc.).

   There is an outdoor power line running in the ground to the pump from 
a GFI outlet with the

Kasa wireless switch.

   Look again at the pic - note that there are some leaves along the 
right edge of the picture.

That's a bush that the birds use as the primary waiting place for going 
to the fountain or the

seed feeder that is about 25 feet away and not in the picture. The birds 
also will perch on

the fence and the evergreen bushes ... but far less than the bush with 
the green leaves.  Even

during the winter when that bush is 'nude'.

   The whole thing works quite well and the 10-15 minutes I spend about 
once a quarter in the

warmer months to clean the pump filter is the only 'maintenance' I have 
to do.

                                  - Any further 
questions?                       - Jim