Attract More Birds to Your Yard with Water

Who doesn't like a nice bath or shower? For us, It can be a relaxing way to clean off after a long day, and can be soothing to the soul. For birds, apart from the social aspect of preening or cooling off from the heat, bathing is really important for their survival. Their feathers need to be washed and cleaned and in pristine condition. Water cleanses them from dirt, parasites, bacteria and other unpleasantries. This is important because should their feathers stay unwashed, these pests can damage their feathers, cause infections, disease and perhaps even kill them. Once the feathers are washed, it is easier for the birds to preen. Birds actually have a preening gland at the base of their tail. They spread oil from this gland along their plumage to become waterproof, especially during cold weather. The birds essentially insulate their body from the freezing climate by wrapping warm air around their feathers. 

When most people think of providing water to birds, they think of a bird bath, which is great. However, birds are attracted to the sound of moving water. Attaching a dripper or mister to your bird bath provides a source of moving water which backyard birds find irresistible! Many birds such as chickadees, finches and titmice will land on the dripper spout and creep down to the end and lean over to take a drink. 

It’s a good idea to keep your birdbath full at all times to attract the widest numbers and variety of birds. But to provide a safe drinking and bathing environment, it’s important to change the water every day or two. Bathing birds may leave behind dirty feathers and droppings, making the bath increasingly unsanitary for other birds. Grackles often drop their nestlings’ fecal sacs into birdbaths, another cause of filthy water. Algae grows much more quickly when the water isn’t cleaned frequently. Also, the species of mosquitoes most likely to transmit West Nile virus often lay their eggs in bird baths. By frequently changing the water, you won’t give the eggs time to hatch or for the larvae to emerge. Adding a wiggler to the bath will also prevent mosquitos from laying eggs, as the device keeps the water moving.

Bathing/preening is so vital for the survival of birds, that territorial birds will “lay down their swords” and wait their turn to splash in the water. Like an unseen contract between all flyers, they know what this means to them. This is a great reason to have a birdbath in your garden year round. Other than it being a soothing (and beautiful) entity in your garden, it can save a bird’s life. This is true for summer as well as winter. Having a birdbath warmer to stop the water from freezing when temperatures drop is the ultimate birdbath to have.

We offer a variety of birdbaths and stands, as well as heaters/de-icers, cleaning brushes and bird-friendly water treatment and cleaners, water wigglers, and fountains.