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Birdbaths? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jennykarl
- Start date
Making birdbath
Hi,
My husband and I want to increase the watersources for wildlife on our property. We have a stream about 150 feet away from our house and we want to place a birdbath closer to the feeders. One questions I have is on placement. How close can the water source be to the feeders and bird houses/nests. The houses are scattered over our property depending on the kind of birdhouse it is.
Also, we were thinking of making a birth bath out of cement. The article I have on how to make the bath suggest coloring the cement with oxide or paint and sealing with water based polyurethane. Does anybody have any thoughts on this.
My husband and I are taking the responsibility of maintaining the structures we put up for wildlife. Trust me, we have been going though enough food on a daily basis. We would especially like to increase their water supply so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jenny
Hi,
My husband and I want to increase the watersources for wildlife on our property. We have a stream about 150 feet away from our house and we want to place a birdbath closer to the feeders. One questions I have is on placement. How close can the water source be to the feeders and bird houses/nests. The houses are scattered over our property depending on the kind of birdhouse it is.
Also, we were thinking of making a birth bath out of cement. The article I have on how to make the bath suggest coloring the cement with oxide or paint and sealing with water based polyurethane. Does anybody have any thoughts on this.
My husband and I are taking the responsibility of maintaining the structures we put up for wildlife. Trust me, we have been going though enough food on a daily basis. We would especially like to increase their water supply so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jenny
Mary Evelyn
New member
IanF
Moderator
We only have a small garden and the bird baths are centrally situated anywhere between 4' and 20' from various feeders and 12' from the nest boxes. The birds don't seme to mind at all.
The most popular bird bath in the garden is a commercial bought concrete one grey coloured with some sort of coating. I've never tried to make one myself, but I'd also be considering the climate in your area. I beleive cement/concrete ones can be prone to frost damage and so may need some 'frost-proofing' to minimise the risk.
The most popular bird bath in the garden is a commercial bought concrete one grey coloured with some sort of coating. I've never tried to make one myself, but I'd also be considering the climate in your area. I beleive cement/concrete ones can be prone to frost damage and so may need some 'frost-proofing' to minimise the risk.
I've got several bird baths now, they are frostresistant plantpot saucers - 30-50 cm in diam. and 5-10 cm deep, darkgreen ( with a stone or two in them for the little ones ) - dotted all over the place, under cover to some extent ( tall trees ) but with a good view all round so nothing can pounce on them undetected ( hopefully ). One sits on an old garden table but all are being used for drinking as well as bathing, from wrens and bluetits to the big fat rooks! I picked them up in sales or as offers in garden/ DIY centres , the lot probably didn't cost me more than £ 20 max. Had the oldest one for over 5 years now and not a scratch on it. Also, although heavy, I can bring them in each day to wash them properly with soap and HOT water rather than having to mess outside with hoses etc., especially in the winter. Wouldn't entertain anythingelse any more.
Bluetit
Bluetit
Dave Adshead
How much!
I bought a concrete bird bath, one of the best investments I've made. It really does attract many different species and its a pleasure to watch them drink and bathe. It's cleaned and filled everyday.
I've got a cement birdbath about 6' from the food underneath a tree. I think as long as food doesn't drop in to your birdbath it is far enough away.Also a dripper helps a lot to attract birds. In my case I hid a water in can in a tree. I took the plastic piece off the pouring end and attatched a short hose to it(hidden in tree too) with a little drip regulator attached to it(from a soap bottle). This set up causes a drip that seem to be coming from nowhere. The birds are there all day long. I also put some flat rocks in the center of the birdbath for smalller birds.
Last edited:
jennykarl said:
In my opinion, one of those little 'scrubbies' that you use for your dishes, zoom it round the birdbath a few times, then a quick flush and all's ready for the birds again
Katy Penland
Well-known member
All due respect to Larry, I would be very, very cautious about using even diluted solutions of bleach, especially in porous concrete, as the most minute amounts could be harmful to birds. Boiling water will kill algae -- it's also the best way to clean out nestboxes each year.
I made my mini-pond (about 3' x 4') out of several layers of plastic Visqueen (a heavy, moisture barrier product used in house construction) and lined it completely with river rocks. There's a hidden hose that maintains a constant drip, which doesn't freeze during the winter even in sub-zero (F) temps due to an insulated wood box I invert over the faucet.
I've only ever used a brush and the garden hose (with a high-power nozzle) to clean it, but it's not an ideal situation as it means having to remove all those rocks each time. My fall project this year is to make a concrete "bowl" with smoothed rocks added to it to create varying depths to accommodate the smallest to largest yard birds which'll be a lot easier to clean. :t:
I made my mini-pond (about 3' x 4') out of several layers of plastic Visqueen (a heavy, moisture barrier product used in house construction) and lined it completely with river rocks. There's a hidden hose that maintains a constant drip, which doesn't freeze during the winter even in sub-zero (F) temps due to an insulated wood box I invert over the faucet.
I've only ever used a brush and the garden hose (with a high-power nozzle) to clean it, but it's not an ideal situation as it means having to remove all those rocks each time. My fall project this year is to make a concrete "bowl" with smoothed rocks added to it to create varying depths to accommodate the smallest to largest yard birds which'll be a lot easier to clean. :t:
Katy Penland
Well-known member
No offense was meant, Larry, it's just that any chemicals around birds have to be used with extreme care. And the smaller the bird, the less it takes to cause problems, whether they keel over instantaneously or ingest enough to sicken them over time through drinking or preening after bathing. My intention was simply to run up a red flag on this as the original question was asked by someone who's relatively new to attracting birds to her yard. :t:lvn600 said:
Mary Evelyn
New member
Jos Stratford said:
I use a jet wash which cleans everything from the bird baths to the paving, without chemicals and is superb.Just plug it in every Sunday and saves me a lot of hard work.
In between, I do the same as Jos.
Katy Penland
Well-known member
Absolutely okay, Jenny, post away! :t:
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