- Bird Accessories, Bird Bath, Bird Baths, Birdbaths, Misters and Birdbath Drippers, Solar Fountain Bird Baths, Uncategorized, Water Wiggler
Add Moving Water to Your Birdbath and Watch the Show!
Fresh water in a birdbath is by far one of the best ways to entice song birds to your yard. Even those who may not use birdhouses or feeders will usually stop by for a sip or dip! You can count on this, be it extreme summer heat…or frigid winter months, a birdbath is a necessity if you’re trying to attract wild birds to your yard.
Adding accessories like birdbath drippers, water wigglers or misters works like a visual magnet to birds, the difference is amazing. Moving water attracts birds like you wouldn’t believe! The added benefits are no stagnant water and the water stays cleaner longer. Also, nasty mosquitoes can not lay eggs in moving water.
In our birdbaths at home, you’ll find two water wigglers and two drippers…our birds love them and we’d never go back to standing water.
- Bird Accessories, Bird Bath, Bird Baths, Misters and Birdbath Drippers, Uncategorized, Water Wiggler
Add Moving Water to Your Bird Bath
A great way to attract more species of wild birds is to have a fresh water source. An even better attractor is moving water! Adding a fountain or dripper to your bird bath will greatly increase the number and species of feathered friend visitors. It’s a known fact that moving water is like a visual magnet to wild birds. There are lots of options available to create moving water in a birdbath. You can even make your own dripper from a simple plastic milk jug (with a tiny hole) hung above the bath.
Whether a dripper, bird bath fountain, water wiggler, or mister, birds will flock to a water source in action. The other great advantage is that mosquitos can not lay eggs in moving water. Thus reducing their population and the liklihood of spreading the west nile virus. Also, bird baths will stay cleaner longer when using some type of agitation or aeration in them.
- Bird Accessories, Bird Bath, Bird Baths, Misters and Birdbath Drippers, Nesting Material, Uncategorized
A Bird Bath Needn’t Be Expensive to Entice More Birds
In my yard there are more birds than I can feed! Food is rationed each morning, as there are at least twenty different species seen at any given time.
Mind you, I could do without the occasional hawk, or squabbling, screeching crows in the morning, but seeing the Bluebirds, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Goldfinches, and so many more daily are well worth it.
One reason for the multitude of species is birdbaths. There are nine of them in my yard, but only two are the traditional pedestal type baths. Some are merely plant saucers or containers, some with moving water in them.
The bird bath pictured above is an old resin planter. When first purchased, I had drilled holes for drainage. When I decided to use it as a birdbath, I simply plugged the holes with glue from the bottom. Adding the water wiggler to create the moving water was what really caught birds’ attention! A few river rocks in the bottom serve as a decorative feature. This bath is usable year-round as it will accommodate a heater in winter as well.
Any kind of shallow planter can be turned into a bird bath as long as it holds water and is not too deep for birds. An optimal depth is 2″-3″ for birds to bathe and wade comfortably. If the water is too deep, try adding a large rock for them to land on, or perch. Also, there is a great new item called the Birdbath Raft which turns any decorative container into a birdbath by floating on top and allowing only a small amount of water into the raft…very cool!
You can attract more birds with birdbaths–and they needn’t be expensive or fancy. Just look around the basement or garage and see what’s available to craft your own!