Attracting Birds With Water

The sound of water is so irresistible to birds that just a little water can bring your backyard to life. Every species has its own unique behavior around water that is entertaining to watch. And, by providing water, you can significantly increase the number of birds that will visit your backyard and attract many species that would not normally come to your birdfeeders. Water is one of the four elements needed to create a wildlife habitat in your yard. Food, cover and places to raise young are the other necessary elements.

Offering Water in Cold Weather

Providing a reliable source of water when natural sources are frozen can attract birds to your yard. In addition to drinking, birds need to bathe when temperatures fall below freezing. Clean feathers help birds stay warm, and a birdbath with open water may often be the only way for some birds to drink and stay clean in cold conditions. Adding warm water or a birdbath heater to a birdbath will give the birds a source of water. Do not add any chemicals to the water to keep it thawed. Doing so is dangerous to wild birds. A birdbath heater is a reliable way to keep an open supply of water for the birds. Wild Birds Unlimited carries a variety of birdbath heaters as well as heated birdbaths. We can help you select the model that best meets your needs.

Drippers, Misters

A dripper can add a new dimension to your birdwatching fun. For example, Chickadees, Finches and Titmice will land on a dripper spout, walk down to the end and then lean over to take a drink. Hummingbirds love to fly back and forth through water from a mister. Attaching a mister to bushes and trees gives the birds an opportunity to "leaf bathe." When leaf bathing, birds will flutter against wet foliage until they are satisfied with their bath.

Keeping Birdbaths Clean

Since birdbaths are used by wild birds as a place to drink and bathe, it is important to keep the baths clean. A bath cleaned weekly with a brush and a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water will help prevent bacteria and diseases that may harm wild birds. During extremely hot weather, water may need to be replenished daily.

How Do Birds Drink?

Most birds dip their bills and then tip their heads back to let the water run down their throats. Doves and Pigeons drink by immersing their bills and sucking up the water (much like a horse). Not all birds need to drink water. Hummingbirds, for example, have a largely liquid diet. But, they do enjoy "playing" in the water.

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