When creating a backyard habitat for birds, it is essential to provide your backyard birds with access to fresh water. Not only do birds need water for drinking and hydration, but they also need water for bathing and cooling off. Birds cool themselves off by breathing. The more they breathe, the more moisture is taken from their lung tissue. By providing birds with a clean source of water, you are sure to attract more birds to your yard because clean water is more scarce then food.
Birds get water from a variety of sources such as food, dew on grass, or surface water. A great way to offer your backyard birds clean, fresh water is to set up a bird bath in your yard. A bird bath should be at least a foot in diameter for offering drinking water. Choose a bigger bird bath (2 or 3 feet in diameter) if you wish to attract multiple birds to bathe in the water. A shallow bird bath (less than 3 inches) is ideal because birds like to wade in the water and may be frightened away if they feel the bird bath is too deep. A light colored bath is also reassures the birds that the water is not too deep.
One of my favorite bird baths is the Water Rippling Bird Bath by Allied Precision. This birdbath is 17 ½ inches in diameter, light colored, and shallow (only 2.5 inches deep). A great feature of this bath is the water wiggler, which helps prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs in the water. Your backyard birds will love the clean, fresh water that this bath offers.
Once you have chosen a suitable birdbath, always remember to keep it filled with water, especially in the summer months when the temperature gets hot. Birdbaths can dry up easily without regular filling. Your backyard birds will start depending on the clean water source and may look for another source if you don’t maintain the water in the birdbath.
