Czech photographers set up a forest watering hole — and every animal in the area started showing up

In a forest near the town of Valtice in the Břeclav region, two photographer friends, Michal Rozsypal and Richard Blažek, set up a simple bird bath — and it unexpectedly became a lifeline for dozens of forest creatures during the severe summer heatwave.

The idea was Richard's: create a water spot where thirsty birds would pose for photos. The friends built a container holding roughly 20 litres of water and placed it in a forest clearing, topping it up up to twice a day. Nearby they pitched a camouflage tent, from which they watched and photographed the comings and goings at the watering hole.

The birds have become dependent on people

"We understood, of course, that in such a brutal drought we were directly helping the birds. There's no water left in the forest, no water source at all — now they rely entirely on us," says 42-year-old Rozsypal.

To keep an eye on the watering hole when they're not there, the photographers set up a camera trap. According to them, on one occasion, at a quarter to five in the morning, eight flycatchers were perched at the water simultaneously. They observe almost every day, but only early in the morning or towards evening — during the day the birds are less active and wary of predators in the open.

A roe deer named Aloiz drops by

The friends never expected their little watering hole to become so lively. They've counted around twenty bird species — warblers, woodpeckers, buntings, shrikes, tits, whitethroats, chaffinches, thrushes, doves, greenfinches, goldfinches, jays, nightingales, and even birds of prey.

At night, tawny owls and long-eared owls have flown in for a drink, and once a buzzard stopped by. The photographers were especially struck by footage of a tawny owl: "She's basically dancing in the water — a real solo performance," Rozsypal laughs.

But the biggest surprise was that the watering hole, originally meant for birds, started attracting other animals too — bees, roe deer and martens. "One regular visitor is a roe deer we've named Aloiz, we've caught her on camera," Michal says with a smile. He occasionally exhibits his photographs back home in Valtice.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz