Garden Bird Baths

Have you ever had any garden bird baths in your yard, or had the privilege of enjoying one in a neighbor’s yard or a family member’s yard? Watching the wild birds bathe in the sun is truly such an enjoyable activity.

Photo courtesy of Duncan Rawlinson

Placing a bird bath in your yard is a great way to enjoy nature throughout the year regardless of your climate. Heating elements can be purchased separately and placed in existing baths, or special heated bird baths can be located. A solar bird bath is another good option to keep the water moving during the summer months (and prevent mosquito larvae from developing at the same time) and the birds LOVE playing in the water! Attracting birds to your yard to bathe is just about as easy as feeding wild birds in your yard! Follow these tips and you'll have lots of different birds flocking to your yard in no time.

Tip #1
One of the more important factors in adding a bird bath to your yard is location. As they say in real estate, “location, location, location!” The same holds true for garden bird baths. Birds prefer a nice sunny spot to take their baths where there aren’t a lot of other distractions. You wouldn’t want to place a bird bath less than 10 feet away from your home, or near any doors or windows that get used frequently because that may frighten “would-be” bathers. Place the bath in a nice sunny spot that does not normally get a lot of traffic.

Photo courtesy of pvera

Tip #2
I would recommend changing the water as frequently as possible – ideally every day, and no longer than 2-3 days. Birds like a fresh bath, and will not be drawn to your bowl if you don’t keep it nice and clean. I've heard that birds are particularly fond of warm water in the winter time. While there are heated bird baths that you can purchase to prevent the water from freezing, the bath will not likely provide "spa-like" temperatures for your little peeps. Give them the warm stuff they're looking for when you fill the bath! The water won't stay warm for long, but it'll certainly be good while it lasts.

Tip #3
Garden bird baths should be cleaned, or scrubbed, about 1-2 times per month. The bowl should not get that dirty if you're filling it with fresh water every day, but birds certainly prefer a clean, fresh bath!

Tip #4
I would also recommend having some distance between the bird feeders (which do better when located in a more protected location) and the bird bath. Birds don’t seem to want to bathe where they eat. Can you blame them? We humans have separate areas for those activities as well!

Tip #5
The same rule applies to luring birds to your bath as it does with feeding wild birds...once you've succeeded in attracting birds to your bird bath, keep them coming back for more! Keep the feeder full and the bath filled with fresh water. Birds take just a little bit of time to identify your home as a good place to eat and bathe. You wouldn't want to have that effort go to waste by turning them away when they show up for breakfast and a soak!

Birds will spread the word, and soon your yard will be the “talk of the town” on the bird wire if you follow these simple tips!!

Enjoy establishing garden bird baths in your yard!

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