Some things to remember:
 

• Shallow water: birds prefer bathing in 1 to 2 inches of water, deeper water tends to be dangerous, and birds will avoid it.

• Rough bottomed surfaces: birds, like humans, perfer a solid footing.  A slick bottomed birdbath won't attract as many birds as one that provides something to break up a slick surface.

• Choose an open site:  Birds become vunerable to predators when bathing since they cannot fly as well when wet, so but your bird bath in an open area were they cann see approaching predators.  Allow approximately 2 feet of open area around the bird bath.

• Clean Water:  Clean your bird baths regularly and make sure to provide clean fresh water daily.  Algae, mud, droppings, and other debree will quickly  make the bird bath unappealing.  Clean water will lessen the transmission of disease to the birds.

• Provide perches:  After making sure you give the birds a clear view of possible predators, make sure the bird bath is near a tree.  A tree will provide perches that the birds can have a place to sit and preen after bathing.

Birds are also attracted to the sound of dripping water, so if you have an outside electric hookup, the addition of a small recirculating pump with help attract birds.  A water spout or a water drip can be made from an empty plastic mild container with small holes in it suspended over a bird bath.  You can also buy a miniature fountain or drip-spout.  Another good way to provide dripping water is of course by the use of sprinklers, and if you use a sprinkler with a fine spray, you will also attract hummingbirds who like to fly through a mist.  Of course, with sprinklers, it would wasteful to leave the sprinkler on all the time unless you have a method to recirculate the water.  You can turn on the sprinkler at the same time every day to provide a dripping bath for the birds.  Some pedestal bird baths come with a built in fountain-type water recirculator.

In the winter, you can also buy a heating element to keep the bird bath water from freezing over.  This is especially important in colder climates where drinking water is scare because of freezing.  The low tech method of just adding boiling water periodically to the bath will work.   You will often see birds eating snow to obtain water in winter, but this wastes their energy reserves, it takes 12 times as much energy to convert water from the freezing point to body heat.  And if birds can not find water to bath in during winter, it  will effect their flight efficiency and their natural insulation ability will be impaired, which will also cost them dearly in wasted energy.  So providing water in the winter is especially important.  (Note, never use anti-freeze or salt to keep water ice free in winter, it will harm the birds.)

A pond is an attractive alternative to a bird bath.  Just keep in mind, it must follow the same guidelines for birds to use.  The edges should slope gently away so a bird can wade in.  You can do this by placing a platform or shelve of rocks, bricks, or a boggy shore of marsh plants.

You can buy books that will explain how to build a pond in your yard from scratch.  Or you can buy a pre-made fiberglass pond.  Either way, you will end up with a mound of excavated dirt that then can be used to make a raised bank are that can be planted with waterside plants.
 

Ways to Attract Birds to your yard.

Feeding the birds	Back to the Main Page
Providing Housing for the Birds	Landscaping and Gardening for the Birds
Other Methods to Attract Birds	Providing Safety for Birds

Specific Birds You May Want to Attract

Attracting Cardinals	Attracting Hummingbirds
Attracting Bluebirds	Attracting Orioles
Attracting Finches	Attracting Buntings
Attracting Woodpeckers	Attracting Tanagers

 

Since May 30, 1999