Why You Should Offer Water to your Backyard Birds
In my second or third year of gardening, I was out watering one evening and a hummingbird stopped by for an encounter I will never forget. It was spring and most of my plantings were relatively new, so I could clearly see this beautiful bird zipping in and amongst my plants, visiting Red Flame Salvias and resting atop my over-wintered pepper plants. After a few minutes, she stopped somewhere near my okra. I stood up to see where she was, and noticed her bathing in the stream of water that was filling in around my watering furrow. She would dip down in the flow of water from the hose, then fly up and back down in the water, splish-splashing about! Luckily, I managed to snap a few photos—see slideshow below. And that was when I knew I needed to add some sort of bird bath to my garden. I improvised, using what I had on hand—a big salad bowl. Western scrub jays, mourning doves, and finches used that bird bath until the plastic rotted in the hot sun.
And then I moved to Wyoming. At our first house here, we lived beside a creek and had a gaggle of ponds nearby, so I just assumed the birds’ water needs were satisfied with the abundant natural water sources. We moved to a new house last year, beside a river and a large pond, but I put out a heated bird bath for the birds this past winter, anyway. Within 15 minutes of putting out that bird bath, a boisterous blue jay hopped up on the ledge for a drink. It has been the watering hole for the neighborhood birds since that day!
Birds rely on clean water sources for drinking, grooming, and staying cool in the summer. By adding a bird bath or other water feature to your yard or garden, you can ensure that your backyard flock has a reliable source of clean water. And so, in addition to offering your feathered friends bird seed and suet, why not put out a bird bath for them?
The bird bath I started with here—a Heated Dog Bowl—was less than $25 and has been in constant use since the day I put it out on my back deck, near a electric outlet. I find most birds don’t actually bathe in it, unless the weather is really warm. Instead, they hop on the ledge or on the rock I put in the bath, and lean forward for a drink or two, or a few! It is especially popular this spring, amongst my house finches, who are frequent daily customers. Juncos, goldfinches, house sparrows, doves, and a pair of pine siskins also stop by for regular visits.
There are some things to keep in mind when putting out a bird bath, or other source of clean water, for your birds—bird bath etiquette, so-to-speak! Today, I thought I would go over some things to consider when it comes to selecting a bird bath. Do you have have a bird bath in your yard? If you have any other tips, tricks, or observations to add to this list, please drop them in the comment section below.
Bird Bath Etiquette: Tips for Success
You don’t have to have an expensive “Bird” Bath
Contrary to what you might think, you do not have to offer your birds water in a specially-designated, glazed ceramic or elaborately decorative bird bath. Really, any shallow dish can be used like a bird bath. I’ve seen folks using things like pie plates, planter saucers, garbage can lids, or even shallow bowls found at thrift stores. The sky is the limit here, as long as you use your creativity and find a container that can hold 1-2” of water. Here are some inexpensive bird bath ideas:
Galvanized Drain Pan or Pet Feeder
Your bird bath does not have to be very deep
Birds prefer to stay in the shallow end. All they really need to bathe and drink from is 1-2” of water depth. In fact, any deeper and they may be hesitant to take a dip—especially smaller songbirds. If you already have a deeper bird bath, you can add some rocks to it, to provide some more shallow places for your birds to stand, and you can also refrain from filling your bath to full capacity. Again, birds only need a couple inches of clean water.
It’s helpful to place your bird bath within reach of a hose, and in your line of sight
This seems silly, but many bird baths must be cleaned and refilled regularly. You are much more likely to maintain a bird bath if you can see and access it easily—within reach of a hose or faucet. For example, when it is freezing cold outside and there is a foot of snow on the ground, I don’t want to go trudging out to my garden to check the bird bath. So instead, I’ve sighted my heated bird bath right on my back deck, so all I have to do is take a few steps out the back door, and then I clean and refill the bird bath right in my kitchen sink. Another benefit of putting your bird bath where you see it easily, is that this gives you a front row seat to the entertaining world of birds at a a bird bath!
Your bird bath should be kept free from ice in the winter
Winter is a great time to offer your birds water because many natural sources freeze over. Even our river here has massive swaths that get completely iced up. By offering water in winter, you can ensure the birds always have a dependable source of water. You can use a few different methods of keeping the bird bath free from ice, including using a heated bird bath, putting a bird bath heater into an existing birdbath, or using a heated dog bowl. I’ve even heard of people who put out a pan of fresh water each morning or dump hot water in their bird bath each morning to melt any ice—that’s dedication!
Water movement can make your bird bath even more attractive to birds
If you already have a bird bath and it doesn’t seem to be getting the usage you had hope for, you can put some sort of bubbler or fountain in it to get the water moving and draw some attention to it. You can get solar-powered versions of both of these things for relatively inexpensive. In California, I found a solar bird bath fountain for like $25 and that thing lasted me nearly 3 years! Another bonus to getting your bird bath water moving, is that it deters insects like mosquitoes from laying their eggs in your bird bath—mosquitoes, after all, are more attracted to stagnant, standing water.
You should never put any algaecide additives in your bird bath
Bird baths are prone to growing different colors of algae, especially if they are not being cleaned enough. Rather than trying to put some sort of pond or fountain algaecide or growth inhibitor in your bird bath—which you should NEVER do—if you find algae, clean it! Remember, many birds drink from bird baths, so, if you wouldn’t drink from it, why would you want your backyard birds to?
Above all, your bird bath should be kept clean and full of water
You can fuss about what you will use as a bird bath all day long—what color it will be, how deep it will be, whether it will be on the ground or on a pedestal—but more important than what you use as a bird bath, is ensuring that you offer CLEAN, healthy water in your bird bath. And, if you aren’t going to keep your bird bath clean, then forget about it! Seriously, with birds, cleanliness is key. During spring and fall migration, especially, there are lots of birds passing through that may be in search of a resting place, a recharging station, a place to clean up and drink up for the next leg of their journey. Having dirty water can be detrimental to many passersby, and also attracts mosquitoes. I find my bird bath needs topped off nearly every day—sometimes twice a day, and a good cleaning a few times per week, depending on weather. In general, if the water looks cloudy or mucky, or if the surface of your bird bath feels slimy, it’s time for another washing. If you find your bird bath is getting really dirty, really quickly, you can add some sort of water wiggler or fountain to it to keep the water circulating, and you can also move it to an open location, out from under the canopy of trees & shrubs that shed their leaves.
There are alternatives to bird baths—Misters, Drippers, Fountains, Waterfalls, Ponds, etc.
If a bird bath isn’t for you, or if you cannot commit to keeping one clean and full of water, there are alternative ways of providing water to the birds. I’m thinking of misters and drippers, water fountains, and other water features in the landscape. Heck, I’ve even seen hummingbirds zipping through the sprinklers for a little shower!
Keep cats away from your bird bath
Lastly, please be aware that cats are major bird killers! In fact, the American Bird Conservancy declares cats as the leading human-related cause of bird mortality. If you have outdoor cats, it would be best for you to not have a bird bath. Even the most kind, gentle felines can’t resist catching a bird.
Rub-a-dub-dub, robin in the tub! 🛀 I hate to admit it, but I'm convinced my backyard robins are cleaner than me! 😳 I'm in the dirt, for hours on end, and they are splish-splashing themselves clean, multiple times each day. My deck is like the communal bath house, and I can hardly keep the bird bath full! This morning, less than five minutes after cleaning it, my robins began stopping by. I had one in the tub and three others waiting their turn!
