Bird baths are on my mind right now as far as my bird watching habit goes. While I did put out my feeders right away, it is water that I concern myself with more than food. It’s very hot here and at times water can be hard for wild birds to find – we have all seen them drinking out of any puddle they come across if we are the sort to notice some things. We also all know that you can live longer without food than you can without water.
An important factor to me as far as putting out a bird bath is the fact that water will attract so many birds to my yard who do not eat seeds. The bluebird, for instance, eats insects and berries. I can’t say that they will not feed at bird feeders because one season I had a single bluebird that actually fed at my feeders, but we rather thought this single bird was maybe a bit soft. I did have families of bluebirds show up for daily bathing though. Also, flycatchers, which I dearly love, are insect eaters but will come for water. Three days ago I had a flycatcher show up and it seems he has stayed around. Yay! He can catch all the bugs he wants in my backyard, I will continue to make sure he has a drink.
When flying over, birds are much more likely to see and recognize water than a bird feeder, therefore much more likely to cruise in to investigate.
A birdbath needs to be shallow. Think puddle, not bath. It should be no more than 1 1/2 inches deep on the edges and slope gently to the middle. A bird will not use a birdbath like a pool and dive in, they will walk in the bath the same way we walk in the water at a beach.
The second important factor when putting out a bird bath is that the bottom of the bath is textured, not smooth. Birds need some grip with their little feets. They will not walk on a smooth surface in the water so you need something with raised bumps or ridges or some such.
Now I have a large in ground bird bath which is simply a sheet of very thick plastic like would be used for pool lining. It’s about 4×3 and dug into a slight depression in the ground. I’ve lined it with pretty, flat landscape stones. You don’t need to go to all of that trouble. Because I have just started trying to attract birds to my yard I have also set out:
Flower pot bottoms, which make great bird baths. The trays which are used on flower pots. Just get the plastic ones. They have a rough bottom and are shallow. Perfect! They are very inexpensive and local garden stores will carry these. You can make it a little more decorative by setting it on the ground or wherever you wish and lining small stones about it.
Serving platters. I also went to my local outlet and bought a couple of huge earthenware serving platters. The biggest ones I could find, and they were quite inexpensive. These have a texture ridges on the bottom and are shallow, plus they are pretty. A platter is a lot more decorative than a flower pot tray, but the birds do not care. If you do this, just make sure it’s not smooth ceramic or glass.
Later when the birds get used to using my in ground bath, maybe I will take in the platters, throw them through the dishwasher and serve food to my guests on them. I don’t think I should mention to my guest that they are being served from the platter formally known as a bird bath.
