BIRD BATHS

Let’s discuss bird baths! By bird bath, I mean the popular cement kind that sits atop a pedestal. If you’re able to provide only one backyard item for birds and you’re leaning towards a bird feeder, instead I highly recommend a bird bath. A bird bath is important year-round but it’s obviously imperative during long periods of drought. You’ll see more species of birds using a bird bath than you would those using a seed feeder. This includes owls at night for those with a game camera pointing at the bath. All year long, most birds need open water to drink from and many of those same species also bathe regularly in order to keep their feathers clean and free of ectoparasites so they’re able to fly. Keep your bird bath clean and filled with water. Refilling it as needed or at a minimum twice a week will insure that it’s always ready for your favorite backyard birds. You’ll need to refill it after one or two bathing Blue Jays splash around. Since birds also drink from a bird bath, avoid chemicals or soaps when cleaning it. Simply drain the water and let the bowl sun-dry for several hours. Keep nearby vegetation pruned back so the neighbor’s cat can’t pounce easily on an unknowing bird at your bath. Here in the mild South, you won’t need a store-bought device sold as a “bird bath heater” since water freezes here only a few times each winter. Soon you’ll notice which species of birds bathe regularly from your bird bath but you also might notice which ones do not. I won’t spoil the fun by listing which ones do and which ones don’t because that’s something fun to discover on your own. I hope you decide to provide a backyard bird bath – do it for the owls! For more information, visit allaboutbirds.org.

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