Bird Baths Will Bring The Birds To You.
Bird baths are one of the essential ingredients to attracting a variety of birds to your backyard.
There are few things that are more appealing to birds than a well maintained bath. Birds absolutely need a dependable supply of water that is clean and fresh. They need this water supply for both drinking and bathing. Actually, a well maintained bath could bring birds to your backyard that you might not normally see at your bird feeders. That is just how important one could be to attracting birds to your backyard.
Here is just a simple styled one. No frills, not fancy, but well maintain. This style could work fine for you.
Anyone can sell you any number of bird baths, but does anyone ever tell you what to look for and what works best for the birds who use them? To me I think it is important to first cover these simple yet important details. It is just there are so many baths on the market today. You can get solar ones, heated ones, hanging ones, simple ones or decorative ones, but in the end it helps to have one that is good for the birds as well.
Fun Fact: Did you know that birds are attracted to the sound of moving water?
It is like a magnet for them and the louder the better. Would a bird bath with a fountain be a good fit for you?
The best types of baths you can get are ones that are shallow with gentle slopes. This will make it easier for the birds to wade in which is what they do. Ideally the depth of the water should start at around 1/2" to 1" and then gently slope to about 2" deep at the center. These depths will offer what most birds would be comfortable with.
If you can place the bath where it will get shade, that would be ideal. It will help keep the water cooler and fresh.
Bird baths that sit up on a pedestal do work fine, but you might also find ones that sit on the ground to be very popular with the birds. Birds do tend to like ground level baths because it most closely resemble nature itself.
Just be sure the baths have some wide open space between them and shrubbery, trees and other things that could hide a predator, like maybe your neighbor's cat.
Here is a bit more decorative one.
You can get baths that are made of any number of different types of material. Personally, if I am getting a pedestal type rather than a ground type, I prefer one made with heavier material so you don't run the risk of normal winds blowing it over.
A simple plastic bath might just blow over if not properly secured. You can also get very plain styled baths or really ornate ones depending on how you plan to landscape.
Fun Fact: You could put some sand or gravel in your bath to give the birds better footing.
Of course the big question is what to do in the winter time. Depending on what your budget calls for, there are many different types of heated baths on the market and if you want environmentally friendly ones, there are solar bird baths for sale as well.
These can work fine and it is a good way to have fresh water for the birds all year long. This becomes especially critical during the winter time when water can be scarce.
One important note here though:
If you maintain a bath all winter long it should be for drinking not bathing. You really don't want the birds standing in the water in the winter time. One way to keep this from happening is to lay a network of sticks over the water so they can't stand in the bath yet still drink out of it.
Stones in the feeder can serve the same purpose as well.
Maintaining your bird baths:
One last thought. It is important that you properly maintain your baths. You should keep the water full and fresh, changing it every one or two days at the most. Not only would the sun in the summer time play havoc with the water, but the bird droppings do accumulate and remember your backyard birds do need clean and safe drinking water. Should algae begin to grow you should scrub your bath with a stiff brush and hot water until you get it all off. I do hope that you found our tips and information helpful when buying a bird bath of your own. If you need advise on wild bird feeders just click here. We also have section on bird houses with some helpful information for you to use. Just go to our wooden bird houses section for that help.
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