Use of Bird Baths in the Garden - Why Install a Bird Bath?
by Elizabeth Jean
Description: Descriptions of a variety of types of bird baths.
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Many people enjoy the sight and sound of birds in the garden -
the color, movement, and song they provide adds life to a garden
and can be very restful, evoking a peaceful, rural atmosphere.
One of the best ways to attract birds to a garden is by adding a
bird bath to your garden. Bird baths do not take up much room,
and can be fairly cheaply bought, and very cheaply and simply
made for oneself. Birds always need to drink and wash, and by
providing a good bird bath you can often gain a loyal following
of birds who will visit your garden throughout the year.
Bird baths bring a whole host of benefits to a garden - not only
do they provide a vital amenity for the birds, but they help your
garden, encouraging visiting birds to interact with and extend
the miniature ecosystem of your garden by feeding and washing
themselves - they may also feed from your soil and plants,
helping to keep a natural balance of worms and insects.
What's A Good Bird Bath?
Designing and installing a good bird bath need not be
complicated, but there are a few things you need to get right:
1. It shouldn't be too deep - a maximum of two inches in the
middle, shelving up to the rim, is ideal. Birds will be tempted
to bathe in deep water, and can easily end up getting waterlogged
and drowning. This can be avoided by keeping the water fairly
shallow.
2. Choose a material with rough surface - concrete or some kind
of stone is ideal to prevent birds from loosing their footing in
the water, and to enable them to get a firm grip on the edge of
the bath when they are drinking from it. Cast stone bird baths
are available at http://www.garden-fountains.com.
3. Locate the bird bath in a safe area - when washing, birds
become more vulnerable and can be targeted by larger birds of
prey, such as hawks, and domestic cats. If possible, locate the
bird bath near to bushes that the birds can use for cover, but
make sure the bushes aren't suitable for lurking cats! You can
do this by leaving some thorny cuttings (from a rose bush, for
example) around the base of the bush.
4. Hygiene is important. Bird baths are filled with standing
water which will gradually accumulate feathers, bird droppings
and dead leaves. If the water is left standing for too long,
algae will also begin to grow in the bird bath.
Change the water regularly, and give the inside of the bird bath
a scrub with an outdoor brush or similar occasionally, to remove
any traces of algae.
5. Birds are cautious animals - they will ignore your bird bath
when it is new, but after they see it has been established for a
few days will gradually start to use it. Make sure you choose its
location carefully, and then leave it to get established for a
while, just changing the water regularly.
Bird Bath Designs
You might have noticed that in the previous section we didn't
look at how far off the ground the bird bath should be. In
principle, it doesn't matter that much, within reason.
Bird baths can have several different basic configurations, some
at ground level, and some raised or suspended above the ground.
What configuration you choose is mostly down to your preferences
- most birds will use your bird bath regardless.
Pedestal Bird Bath
Perhaps the most common and well-recognized configuration for a
bird bath is that of a stone bowl on top of an ornamental
pedestal. Such a bird bath will typically be one to two feet off
the ground, and anything from six inches to two feet in
diameter.
Designs like this are popular in many styles of garden, and are
useful for adding a touch of style and formality to your garden,
especially if you by a good quality, carved stone bird bath.
Suspended Bird Bath
If you are short on ground space, or have a trellis or
overhanging eves, you might want to consider a suspended bird
bath. These might typically be composed of a large, shallow
ceramic bowl, with three or four sets of holes around its rim,
into which chains fasten to be suspended from a single point
above.
This is very similar to the design of some hanging baskets, and
bird baths like this can be used in many of the same scenarios -
in a small container garden, or on a large patio, for example.
Ground Level Bird Bath
Of course, there is no real need for a bird bath to be above
ground level at all. Natural ponds and puddles aren't suspended
in the air, after all!
A very simple and effective bird bath can be made simply by
creating a shallow hole in the ground, and placing an upturned
dustbin lid into it, before filling it with water. Equally,
liquid concrete could be poured into a hole of the desired shape
to create a bird bath that could be left in situ or moved
elsewhere in the garden.
Luxury Touches
Any of the bird baths described above should prove very
successful if kept clean and well-located, but you can always go
further if you would like to. Heated bird baths, whether solar or
mains-powered, can keep the water free of ice for birds in the
winter, and some experts believe that the sight and sound of a
constant trickle of fresh water into a bird bath helps to make it
much easier for birds to find.
Whatever you choose, you garden should become one of the most
popular places in the neighborhood for your local birds, and
provide them with a valuable community facility!
Penned by Elizabeth Jean for http://www.garden-fountains.com.
Quality cast stone birdbaths can be found here: Bird Baths.
