Yes, I know this doesn’t have any sexual innuendo, political message or reference to a reality television show (sorry on all counts), but I just built a bird bath and I was wondering where it would be best for those dirty birds in my neighborhood - in the sun or shade or little bit of both?
Watch, somehow this will end up in the Pit.
Yeah, around here it could.
What kind of birds are we talking? I’m no bird expert, but some birds might like some cover so they can take a break from watching the skies for trouble. Others like it open so they can watch everything for trouble.
I had to move mine because it was too close to the patio where I’d be sitting. It got a lot more traffic when I moved it a few paces further away.
If there are cats around, you definitely want to put the bath in the open where the cats can’t hide under too-close bushes, etc.
I think I would put it outside the house.
I’m not really sure what type of birds they are, we have grackles (is that really a bird? That’s what my wife calls them). robins, doves, and a handful of little songbirds.
And there is only one cat that frequents my back yard and she is completely intimidated by the birds.
An odd discovery that makes sense once you think about it… My mother had a saucer-type birdbath, sitting on a stand at about waist height. Didn’t get much bird action. For some reason, she just set the saucer down on the patio itself, and it was a huge hit with the local avian fauna.
Think about it: where does a bird instinctively look for a place to bathe? He looks for a big puddle on the ground. Small pools of water three feet off the ground don’t occur very often in nature.
The other thing that will draw birds is to get one of the dripper thingies to attach to the side of the birdbath. It makes it much easier for the birds to find the bath. They’re very visual critters, and the little ripples are a tip-off that there’s water there.
It should be under five feet. I asked a cat and he said he could only jump five feet in the air from a standing point. So he recommended the bird bath be no higher than five feet.
I think it depends on how brazed your birds are. In Chicago the birds are pretty used to people. We have robins, blackbirds, grackles and such that will walk right up to you with no fear. I’m sure these types of birds would be more skittish in the suburbs.
The birds around me seem to love sprinkers, but I think that makes the bugs fly out of the ground so the birds get a quick feed.
My parents birthbath seemed to work well just at the edge of the outer branches of a maple tree.
Damn. Suddenly I want a birdbath that I can see from my window.
Good idea, TV time.
Put it near some bushes or other vegetation. They like to be able to get close to it to check it out for safety and then have someplace safe to fly to nearby.
If you have a high wall bordering one side of your garden, in my case about 7 feet, a birdbath works well enough on top of same. There’s space for these avian freeloaders to land there and the location is safe.
The better spot for our house is under a tree. The birds do prefer something between themselves and the hawks when using it. Sometimes you can see one bird on guard as another uses it and then they switch. The water gets very hot in direct sun light too, and evaporates faster.
I’m getting ready to set it out, so thanks for all your suggestions. If you come up with any more ideas, I will be checking back on this as long as its still on the boards so feel free to post, and I will probably move the thing as needed.
Thanks again.
A better idea might be a feeder. It will attract more (and more kinds) of birds than a bath, I’d think, especially if you can have a couple of compartments for sunflower seed, millet and suet. That covers just about all the songbirds.
“Dripper thingy”… do you mean water spout? Is it battery powered? Because our bird bath does get a lot “action”, with the doves, but the cardinals and every other bird that eats out of our feeder won’t go near it!
Our feeder is about ten feet away from the bird bath. But for some reason, only the doves and some squirrels get into the bird bath.
the feeder however, attracts every bird in the neighborhood.
I have a 500mm lens and have gotten some great shots of all the different types of birds.
You don’t want to put it directly under a place where birds routinely perch because it will end up full of bird crap.
Yep, I built one of those last year. It does get a lot of action, so I went with a bird bath this year. Just one compartment though, and I get the mixed bird seeds. They and the neighborhood squirrel seem to like it.
Actually the squirrel is not crazy about it because he comes under attack from all the birds when he tries for some of the seeds. It’s a lot like a reenactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor each time he tries for the seeds - flight after flight of dive bombers drop on him and fighters coming in to straffe. It’s really quite exciting. No torpedo planes yet, however.
No, it’s like this: http://www.backyardbirdsdiscoverycenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=HPI-421B
It connects to a long thin hose, and produces a steady drip-drip-drip into the bath, like a leaky faucet.
Also very effective is a birdbath “wiggler,” which actually is battery-powered. You just set it in the middle of the bath, and it jiggles, producing ripples:
http://www.shopwbu.com/product/part_number=3589/567.0.42047.0.0.0.0
More drippers and misters: