Date: 6/13/26 3:39 pm From: Mary Nemecek <0000033e56bb8a8d-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Bubbler Data near Smithville Lake and Construction Suggestions....
With excellent advice from Margy and LIsa, I put a bubbler in last fall. I haven't added up my species list yet, but I had at least 7 species of warblers this spring at the bubbler- 3 of which I've never seen in my yard before. The hummingbird visits it every morning.
While maybe not the least expensive basin, I used the Aquascape 30 basin. It was so easy. Dig the hole. Put the basin in. Add the pump. Put the rocks on top. Run the tubing through the bubbler rock and turn it on. A local landscape service, that sells rocks, drilled the bubbler rock and the rest of the rocks came from waste dirt piles in the subdivision developement down the road.
I have a solar powered Ring camera on it.
I can't recommend having moving water enough. It has been so much fun.
Much appreciation to Lisa and Margy for being so generous with all their time and knowledge. Thanks to Terry for starting this thread. If you are thinking about putting in a bubbler- just do it :)
Mary NemecekKCMO(In the time its taken me to type this- 2 Robins and a BlueJay visited the bubbler)
"One planet, one experiment." -Edward O. Wilson
On Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 04:39:30 PM CDT, Margy Terpstra <0000049583b18162-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Hi Terry,
What fun you’ve had! I know that special feeling of discovering new species that stop in to drink or splash. Our bubbler has been in since the fall of 2000, nearly 26 years now. OMG, really? We’ve been able to document 127 species so far, including 35 warblers that have visited the bubbler.
I see Abigail just sent our link to the Gateway Gardener video of building a pondless bubbler for Robert’s yard. Thanks, Abigail!!
Here is a page from my blog with links to take you to all of the Bubbler ideas we’ve had, maintenance, too:
https://hummerhavenunltd.com/blog/2019/6/bubbler-maintenance-6-27-19
Thanks for some solar inspiration, Terry (and Mike)!
Good birding and bubbling, all!
Margy <Terpstraladybirdterp...>
On Jun 13, 2026, at 1:37 PM, Terry Miller <000009a0b0d4f681-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Greetings fellow birders,
I am making this post as I believe many of you, afterreading it, will be interested in setting up your own bubbler?
Last Spring (2025), my good friend and colleague Mike Niles wantedto put up a solar bubbler along a tree line in the field behind my house. I readily agreed and my property bordersSmithville Lake in Clinton Co., MO. Being solar, it was only having water flowfor 3-5 hours a day if it wasn’t overly cloudy. We have it operating from early Spring until October but occasionally itwas not operating for various reasons. We set a game camera up to take short 30 second videos. And we havehundreds of videos!
To date we have videos of 41 species of birds…and a fewsquirrels and raccoons. I will list themafter comments by Mike Niles on some aspects of our bubbler set-up:
Bubbler/Bath is an old utility sink (donated and I built a 2x 4 frame to hold it up) with a metal wire “shelf” over the opening. Then added a bathing dish, a solar pump (keep under 120 gph, only want a trickle of water –DEPENDS on how high you are pumping the water up) and rocks. The gurglingoccurs especially as the water overflows the bathing dish/pan into the sink below. I like the “utility sink” because it has aplug for EASY water changing every 2-3 weeks! (If you have access toelectricity, a non-solar pump would be great because the solar pump is onlyrunning about 3 – 4 hours per day)
I have uploaded 10 videos to Flickr and, if you just want tolook at a 3-4, I would suggest the ones titled:
I hope you enjoyed this post and are encouraged to set upyour own bubbler!
The List of 41 Species alphabetically:
1. American Goldfinch2. American Robin3. Baltimore Oriole4. Black-capped Chickadee5. Blue Grosbeak6. Bluejay7. Brown-headed Cowbird8. Brown Thrasher9. Canada Warbler10. Cedar Waxwing11. Chipping Sparrow12. Dark-eyed Junco13. Eastern Bluebird14. Eastern Phoebe 15. Eastern Screech Owl16. Eastern Towhee17. European Starling18. Gray Catbird19. Harris’s Sparrow 20. House Finch21. House Sparrow22. Indigo Bunting23. Nashville Warbler24. Northern Cardinal25. Northern Flicker26. Orange-crowned Warbler27. Palm Warbler28. Purple Finch29. Red-winged Blackbird30. Ruby-throated Hummingbird31. Rose-breasted Grosbeak32. Song Sparrow33. Summer Tanager34. Swainson’s Thrush35. Tufted Titmouse36. Red-eyed Vireo37. White-crowned Sparrow38. White-throated Sparrow39. Wilson’s Warbler40. Northern Yellow Warbler41. Yellow-rumped Warbler
Terry L. MillerPlattsburg, <MOmillert832...>
www.millerstaxidermy.net
Follow me on Instagram: terryl.miller
"Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made." Romans 1:20
"The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder." G.K. Chesterton
The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum
Archives / Subscription options / MBS Website / Email the list owners
ABA Birding Code of Ethics
MBS Fall Meeting: 125th Anniversary - Sept. 25-27, 2026, Columbia, MO
The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum
Archives / Subscription options / MBS Website / Email the list owners
ABA Birding Code of Ethics
MBS Fall Meeting: 125th Anniversary - Sept. 25-27, 2026, Columbia, MO
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The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum
