First Coast Pet

Posts Tagged ‘Bird Baths’

You can make your garden attractive to wild birds in many different ways. The easiest way is to give them the food they love and a place away from any predators for them to eat. Bird feeders are ideal for providing food for them. They are really helpful to the birds during the winter when food is hard to find.

You can set up feeding stations with food for different species. For example finches feed on small thistle seeds and specially designed bird feeders that allow the finches to feed easily can be purchased. Tube feeders are very good to keep seeds dry and prevent it spilling out. You could also use a window bird feeder so that you can watch the birds from inside your home.

You can purchase bird feeders specially designed for woodpeckers,goldfinches and hummingbirds. Place them somewhere safe and close to your birdhouse. Mold can grow on damp food so check daily that the food is dry. Clean up any spilled food around the feeder regularly to deter ants and wasps and other predators.

Feeding during the winter is most beneficial for wild birds but shortages occur during other seasons as well. Food shortages can happen at any time of year so provide food to help them all year round. Make sure you put out food suitable for fledglings in the breeding season.

Water in the form of pans or garden bird baths provides drinking water and the facility to bathe and clean their feathers. You should provide water in containers at different levels for different species. Only fill containers to a few inches and place containers away from bird feeders as birds like quiet places to bathe and preen. The sounds of running water will attract wild birds. Attract the birds with a water dripper attached to your bird bath. It will also stop mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water.

Wild birds will feel much more secure in a natural environment which you can easily provide. Leaving an area to grow naturally with wild flowers and trees will provide an attractive place for them.

The sound of running water will naturally draw all sorts of wild birds to your yard. A fountain or spay birdbath can give your bird the water they need for drinking and bathing. You can have fresh water for your local wild birds throughout the year with a heated birdbath. Brids often have a hard time finding fresh water when everything freezes in winter. 
 
by providing clean fresh water during the long winter you can help the birds thrive. An added benefit will be the pleasure you get by watching the birds play and bathe. Heated bird baths should not be put right next to your bird feeder. The noise of the feeder can distract the birds from drinking and bathing. Your birdbath will be safer for the birds if you place it under tree branches. This will give them an escape route from any prowling cats. 
 
You can put a solar or battery powered birdbath just about anywhere in the garden. With an electric powered heated birdbath it will need to be put close to an outlet. Buying heated fountain birdbaths has many advantages. A concrete or marble heated birdbath will be more durable than one that does not have a heater. The constant freezing and melting of ice in a birdbath can produce cracks which will eventually leak. This can be avoided by keeping the water in your birdbath warm.
 
Heated birdbaths can be found in several designs and using many different types of materials. Some common materials used for heated birdbaths are marble, iron, concrete, copper, and plastic. Copper makes an excellent addition to just about any garden, especially if you have other copper elements sprinkled throughout. You do not want the water bowl for your heated birdbath to be more than three inches deep with a rough bottom to give the birds a secure footing.