Article brought to you by Best Garden Bird Baths
When clean, fresh water is hard to find the wild birds will love to come to a garden birdbath to bath and drink. Fledglings will often be brought to a bird bath by their parents and you can watch in delight as the baby birds take their first bath.
Some birds, such as waxwings, wrens and other insect eating birds that do not visit bird feeders will be attracted to a bird bath. So you could get more variety of birds at your bird bath than at the birdfeeder.
Bird baths should always be shallow. No more than three inches in the middle and shallower towards the edges. Some bird baths that you can buy are too deep so make them shallower by adding some rocks or stones.
Birds do not like slippery, glazed surfaces as they can lose their footing easily. Cement bird baths are good but heavy to handle. Fiber/resin bird baths are much lighter and have a rough surface which is ideal.
It’s always a good idea to have some running water as the sound will attract the birds. A dripper is easy to set up on a bird bath and recirculates the water. Some birds that do not like to wade, hummingbirds for instance, will fly through the drips or sprinkles. You could also use a water wiggler to agitate the water as well as preventing mosquitoes from laying eggs on the surface.
Always locate the bird bath away from anywhere cats can hide and jump out at the birds. Also keep it away from bird feeders as birds like peace and quiet to bathe away from noise of other birds feeding. Under overhanging branches is a good place as a bird can fly up to the safety of the branches if it is threatened.
Also place it somewhere you can see it from a window!
Image by zachstern
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