Bird bath advice please (1 Viewer)

Very well spent - it looks much nicer than the plastic saucers I sometimes put out for more choice in very hot weather. (They always have a very elderly RSPB fibreglass birdbath, as well as the pond and the two little pools that overflow into the pond).

helenol said:

Yes, but don't you think this is £6.99 well spent?

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Aye, it looks a real picture. Very well spent. In fact though it put me to shame and I went back to B&Q today and bought the three quid one! It's blue and called a Malay Saucer (very posh) I am into a blue phase at the moment, having just bought a new bird table/planter combined and painted that blue too! I have got lots of fence panels to do yet though!

Perhaps someone on this thread can suggest what I'm doing wrong. I used to use a ceramic dish on a metal support as a birdbath. It was never satisfactory either to me or to the birds. They drank from it regularly but wouldn't use it for bathing. I wanted a more natural bath. In the picture that I've attached you should be able to see a large slab of sandstone that I've attempted to make into a birdbath, it's about 40"x30" and perhaps 10" thick. It's supported on bricks so the top surface is about a foot above the ground. I hollowed out a saucer-shaped indent that's roughly 20"x14" and 1 3/4" deep in the middle. The slope to the middle is very gradual. I actually did all the work before I moved it into position.
All that sounds good and I was quite happy with the result. The problem is that the birds completely ignore it. After trying it out for a couple of weeks, I finally gave in and put the old ceramic job right beside the new bath. You should be able to see it in the picture. The birds were there drinking form the ceramic one within a hour or two.
I can't figure out what's wrong! :h?:
Any suggestions would be appreciated. The only thing that I can think of that I haven't tried is to raise the stone up higher, closer to the level of the ceramic one but that would not be an easy thing to do. The dripping water trick might help but the old bath is still water, so why the difference.

Seems birds are a bit fussy out your way, but possibly the higher one is safer from the threat of moggie attack? Is that bush in the left of the picture, near the new ground bath, capable of hiding a cat or two?
But, hey, the one on a pole doesn't look so bad ...matches the two light poles!

I used to use a paint tray that was designed to be used with paint rollers as it has a sloping bottom ideal for birds of all sizes to drink and bathe in.

Favourite bath in my garden is a plastic dog bowl (Blackbird thinks it is just right size) and the little ones, Blue Tits and Sparrows can perch quite comfortably on rim to drink (just have to remember to keep it filled to top or they can't reach the water).

Ann

Through the wonders of the search facility I found this thread and wondered if anyone could give me some advice over the siting of my birdbath?

I have a teracotta plant base just like the one Helen has, but the birds completely ignore it, even though it has been there since last November. I started off with it on the ground but it was ignored, so I put it on some bricks to lift it up, so it's now about 40cm off the ground. All through the winter I went out and filled it with fresh water and melted ice when needed, but I have never seen it being used at all, apart from the cats use it as a drinking bowl. It is in the middle of the lawn, which in my small garden means that it is about 2.5meters from everything else - the shrubs, the fence and the conservatory with a more open aspect in one direction. Should I move it nearer to the shrubs, I had it in the open thinking that the birds would rather see all around?

I do have a small bowl as part of the feeding station (on a pole along with a food tray and a tube feeder) which some of the birds drink from but it tends to empty from the movement of the feeders and also gets seed debris and sometimes poo dropped in it.

Anyone have any advice?

Hi Sarah, isn't the search facility just great!

Why don't you try placing it about 6 feet away from the shrubs? See what happens then.

Mine is used daily by all species, but by far the best sight is the long tailed tits, when they all get together in the birdbath!

Yay, I am glad you did a search Sarah!
Reading this post reminded me of something. I would have never thought to pose a question I have been mulling around in my head here...which of course is stupid as you all will see, once I ask.

I am a potter and have made birdbaths that are suitable, very well made, and decorative. I usually sculpt a figure of a bird for the center with rock-like formations around it that vary in size for all the different birds.
They work and, if I do say so myself, they are beautiful. But I do think that most people are a little turned off by the weight of the things.
I was making standing birdbaths, but found hanging ones to be much more efficient. And with them being heavy, they don't have a tendency to flip with a larger bird or strong wind.
I just have been putting off making more, because people are all about weight, oh, and price...heh, they are a bit high end.
I am not trying to sell anything, but who better to consult than all of you who feed the birds? I know my preferences, but not really anyone else's for birdbaths and feeders for that matter. Any feedback would be better than none.

Oh yes, and Sarah, I think just moving around the birdbath every month or so until the birds think you have found a good spot is a good solution. My birds have always liked a close place to 'clean-up' afterwards, so I usually put it near a low hanging tree or bushes as Helen suggested.

Elizabeth

Thanks for the advice, I have now moved the bath closer to some bushes. Now I'll have to wait for the weekend to see if I have any takers in the new position.

Elizabeth - do you have any photo's of your birdbaths, I think the post might be a bit expensive to send one here but it's always interesting to see people's creativity?

SarahK said:

Thanks for the advice, I have now moved the bath closer to some bushes. Now I'll have to wait for the weekend to see if I have any takers in the new position.

Elizabeth - do you have any photo's of your birdbaths, I think the post might be a bit expensive to send one here but it's always interesting to see people's creativity?

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Sarah,
I hope your birdbath is entertaining more these days?
I would post a picture, but I am afraid I don't have anything really all that great in my archives of pictures and I had stopped making anything bird related just because I was the only one who was enjoying them.
I am going to try and get back into some of the bird things that I used to do. Of course, almost everything else I do is bird related, but just not FOR the birds...or maybe it is!

Elizabeth

it sounds like you have a similar birdbath to mine. I placed two bricks in it and the water just covers the top of them, it took a while but it gets used regularly now by most of our visiting birds. Leave an open area for bigger birds to bathe in. Have you tried using a drip or a mister to attract the birds? I have a 20 metre length of hose connected to our outside faucet with a fine spray nozzle on the end. I hammered in a bamboo cane next to the birdbath and then tied the hose to the cane so that the nozzle points upwards. I turn on the tap just enough so the water is coming out of the nozzle to a height of about 2 feet. The water drips down onto the birdbath and two bushes either side of the birdbath and has been awesome for bringing in birds especially migrants. The smaller birds sometimes bathe in the bushes by rubbing themselves up against the wet leaves - the warblers especially. I have also placed a few dead branches above the bird bath to provide perches for the birds, they often sit on the branches and get a good soaking from the mister. I will post a picture of my setup tomorrow.

Old style solid faced Satellite dish pointing upwards, sited on top of an old tree concreted into the garden. Varying depths for different species

Regards

Malky

here are some pictures of my mister/birdbath setup as well as my yard