Tags
accumulation of water, ground depressions, micro habitat, mud, on a surface, shallow, small, surface tensions, Toys
Puddle
A puddle is a small accumulation of liquid, usually water, on a surface. It can form either by pooling in a depression on the surface, or by surface tension upon a flat surface. A puddle is generally shallow enough to walk through, and too small to traverse with a boat or raft.
Small wildlife, such as birds and insects, can use puddles as a source of essential moisture or for bathing. Raised constructed puddles, bird baths, are a part of domestic and wildlife gardens as a garden ornament and “micro-habitat” restoration. Swallows use the damp loam which gathers in puddles as a form of cement to help to build their nests. Many butterfly species and some other insects, but particularly male butterflies, need puddles for nutrients they can contain, such as salts and amino acids. In a behavior known as puddling they seek out the damp mud that can be found around the edge of the puddles. For some smaller forms of life, such as tadpoles or mosquito larvae, a puddle can form an entire habitat. Puddles that do not evaporate quickly can become standing water, which can become polluted by decaying organisms and are often home to breeding mosquitos, which can act as vectors for diseases such as malaria and, of more recent concern in certain areas of the world, West Nile virus.
Puddles are a source of recreation for children, who often like jumping in puddles as an “up-side” to rain. A children’s nursery rhyme records the story of Doctor Foster and his encounter with a puddle in Gloucester. Muddy puddles, and the pleasures of splashing mud in them, are a repeated theme in the children’s animation Peppa Pig, to the extent of selling character-branded wellington boots.