Birdbaths Decorative and Practical 

Birdbaths are one way to provide water to your backyard birds that they need for their survival. It is one of the easiest ways for attracting birds and bring them up close, where everyone can watch and enjoy them.

There are many ways to provide water while bringing some beauty to your garden at the same time. Birdbaths can help make a summer garden attractive and they are available in a large variety of sizes, forms, and materials. However, don’t buy one with any moving, shiny objects that might scare your birds away.  Our Amazon Store can provide a large variety of birdbaths for your backyard garden.

It is hard for birds to judge the depth of water. Many of them have poor depth perception because their eyes are on the sides of their heads. Because of this most backyard birds are afraid of water deeper than 2 to 3 inches and some like it even shallower than that. Therefore, the water that you provide should not be any deeper than 3 inches and the surface where birds enter should be rough to provide sure footing.

Your birdbath should also have a gradual, shallow approach into the water. Materials such as stones, pebbles, and sand can be placed into them for sure footing. Roughen smooth, slippery surfaces with coarse sandpaper for better footing. If your birdbath has an abrupt edge place a rock or a piece of wood on the rim, letting it angle into the water like a ramp. This will provide a dry space for them to enter into the water’s edge. For deeper birdbaths put a large rock in the center for a safe perch.

Place your birdbath near some type of cover or shelter. Birds get nervous when they’re all wet (wet birds can’t fly well). Shelter makes them feel better and, if shelter is near, they’re more likely to stop to drink or bathe. Although nearby shelter or cover is important, you want to be careful not to give the neighbor’s cat a hiding place from which to ambush your feathered friends. A cat that is exposed rarely gets close enough to be a threat. Therefore keep the birdbaths a safe distance away from dense cover, and make it slightly elevated. (Commercial birdbaths are usually built 3 feet high.) When near shelter don’t let branches, or your birdfeeders, hang directly over the water. Excess birdseed and droppings from the birds waiting to bathe will pollute the water. Remember they drink this water too.

Locate your birdbath in a spot that is convenient for you to enjoy the visitors it attracts. It should also be where you can reach it easily with a garden hose for regular cleaning and refilling. Birdbaths require regular maintenance. They should be hosed off and refilled often, and checked daily in hot weather. Don't let your water become stale.

Keep an old scrub brush handy to help clean out your bath and then rinse it clean with a garden hose. For tough algae and scum, grab a handful of gritty soil and rub it around on the inside of the bath. The soil acts as an abrasive. Regular cleaning and refilling will allow you to provide fresh, clean water and you will continue to attract birds to your backyard birdbath.