Birdfeeders

With so many birdbaths to choose from, how to decide what to get? I think size is the first consideration. Small birdbaths are easy to clean and to move, but only a couple of birds can use them at once. Large birdbaths are attractive in a large yard and will accommodate many birds. I prefer to have two or three small birdbaths in different places and at different levels. They are easy to maintain and not such a big financial investment. The appearance of birdbaths is important to us, but not really to the birds. Get one you enjoy looking at. Birds only care that it is filled with fresh clean water and is shallow enough for them to be comfortable in. The best birdbaths are those that can be maintained all year long, so if you live in an area with cold winters, consider buying a birdbath heater to keep the water from freezing.

At first, I worried that the mourning dove laying in our bird bath with one wing up in the air was hurt. Then I realized he was just sunning and cooling off! It looks so strange that if you haven’t seen it before, you very well may think the bird is injured. I have seen other mourning doves do this as well as some sparrows, but never while sitting in the bird bath! While sunning, a bird is trying to expose different parts of its body to as much sun as possible, so they often do this out in the open to avoid shadows. This is a frequent behavior on our large deck as well as in our raised beds, but never before in our bird bath.

Hot summer days can be as challenging for birds as they are for us. They have some natural adaptations to help cool them off. They pant, just as dogs do, they will seek shade and lower their activity level. If there is any breeze, you will see birds puff out their feathers and lift up their wings to get air to their hot skin. Although birds have their own ways to keep cool, a backyard bird bath will certainly draw birds to your yard on a hot day. Some birds will come only to drink, but many will come to either wade or really splash around. We have two bird baths, one large saucer type that is about 2″ deep that we have right on the ground. It is regularly visited by quail, doves, robins, grosbeaks, jays and other larger birds. The hanging bird bath has sloping sides to a center depth of 2 inches. This is used most often by finches, sparrows, orioles and any birds that love to splash around. On the hottest days, I try to fill it at least once during the day to keep the water cool, but this certainly isn’t necessary. If you can add a mister or dripper to your bird bath, the birds will be drawn like a magnet!

To attract birds quickly to a small area, first scatter bits of white bread around and watch to see which species are in the area and bold enough to come in. This could take a few days, but it is worth it. Most birds are hesitant to feed on a high balcony, but usually even these can draw some brave birds. Once you have attracted some birds, add other foods that they like. A small platform bird feeder is excellent for offering a variety of foods that are highly visible. If even a platform feeder doesn’t attract many birds, but water is scarce in the area, add a large flat pan of water and see if that draws more birds in. If it does, then adding a bird bath would be a great idea.

Offering water to birds in your yard will attract the greatest number and variety of birds. Even birds who don’t visit bird feeders will visit an obvious supply of water for all birds need water for drinking and bathing. Choose a spot where you can easily watch and where predators cannot hide for your bird bath. The perfect bird bath is no more than 2.5″ deep and preferably has a sloping bottom so even very small birds can visit. I have one with sloping sides and one with straight sides that holds more water and is preferred by the bigger birds. It is also a good idea to place a bird bath near some perching places, for a wet bird is vulnerable. It cannot fly very well with sodden feathers and needs a safe place to shake dry and preen.

During these hot summer days, birds drink 4 times as much water as on cooler days, so our bird baths will certainly attract birds to our yards. Feathers prevent loss of heat from the skin. This is great in the winter, but makes it more difficult to cool off during the hot summer months. When temperatures go over 100F, birds begin to pant which helps to cool them, but also requires them to drink more water. On a recent hot day, I watched a mourning dove sitting in the bird bath and also lifting one wing as high as possible. After a minute or so, it would do the same with the other wing. This allows heat to escape from under the wings. It sure looks silly, but is quite effective for the bird. On especially hot days, I try to change the water in our bird baths during the day, or at least add a splash of cool water.

At this time of the year, there is lots of natural food around, so birds have to be coaxed into coming into our yards. The best addition to any yard now is a bird bath. On these hot summer days, birds love to come splash around in our bird baths. We have two bird baths in our yard. One is right on the deck and is simply a clay tray intended to hold a flower pot. It is about 2 inches deep so is loved by the doves and jays. As they splash water out so it is more shallow, the smaller song birds arrive. The other is a traditional sloped side hanging bird bath. The many finches love this one and keep it quite busy most of the day. Of course we also need to keep our bird feeders filled to encourage visits and having nectar rich flowers will most certainly draw hummingbirds and often orioles.

It is extremely important for birds to keep their feathers in top shape. Feathers are used for temperature control and for flight. A bird has 2,000-3,000 feathers. A healthy bird cleans, lubricates and returns each feather to its proper position every day. This is why it is such a good idea to have a bird bath in your yard. Birds love to splash around, get completely wet, then fly to a nearby branch to preen. I love watching them joyfully splashing water everywhere as they fling water and get completely wet. Flying is more difficult at this point, so they often stay right on the deck railing to begin preening. They pull feathers through their bills and get them to lie properly. I have noticed that they often make a second trip to the bird bath. It really is good entertainment to watch this activity. Now that it is warmer and the sun is shining, our bird baths are especially busy.

Once you have placed a bird bath in your yard, it really is very easy to maintain. The water just needs to be changed regularly. I simply dump out the old water, rinse it out with a hose and refill. I keep a wire brush nearby so if it isn’t completely clean, a quick brush does the trick. If this is done often, it is rarely necessary to really scrub and disinfect the bird bath. The biggest mistake that people make is overfilling a bird bath. Most birds will only enter water that is not much more than an inch deep. With shallow water, you will soon see your bird bath visited by chickadees, house finches, goldfinches, robins and sparrows. We also have lots of jays who were always the first in a recently filled bird bath and could quickly almost empty it. I have added a second bird bath that I do fill a little deeper. They love it and leave some shallow water for the smaller birds.