Garden Bird Baths For Winter And Summer

You not only provide a place where the birds can grab a quick drink when you place a bird bath in your back yard, but you enable them to care for their feathers by bathing. Bathing and preening their feathers is an important activity that birds must continually attend to all year long, just because it's winter doesn't mean it stops. By adding a heated bird bath to your outdoor area you allow the birds to carry on with a natural activity and provide a necessary source of water at the same time. Their feathers must be combed through to not only keep them properly aligned and straight for quick flight from predators, but to remove dirt, insects, and parasites that may be lurking there.

By this grooming process, which involves an oil gland on the base of the tail, into which the bird first dips the beak before combing and cleaning the feathers, they are kept in top flight condition and a protective seal is added at the same time as a protection against the elements. It is important to keep the basin of the bath clean not only for the birds health, but by doing so you will be able to attract more birds to your yard. Birds just will not visit a dirty bird water basin nor for that matter an area that is unsafe.

By setting out feeders, sources of water and even nesting boxes you are helping to protect and preserve many vanishing species of song birds which has occurred due to loss of natural habitat, poisins in their environment and even trapping to be sold or eaten. Therefore the use of a water supply for baths and for drinking is critical to these birds and even more so in the winter time by using a heated one.

You can find heated bird basin baths in the familiar pedestal type, the ground variety and even those basins that mount to the railing of the deck or gazebo. For the winter time the use of any metal bird water bowls or baths is not recommended as the birds wet feet or body can stick to the cold outer surface of the dish where the heat may not have reached, causing injury to the bird. Most of the modern heated baths are of the plastic resin type. A few older ones have used metal and some bird enthusiats have tried a heating coil in a metal one, this is not a good idea.

The popular heated ones sold today use a basin that gently slopes to about two inches in the middle, averages from a foot to a foot and a half in diameter, has a textured surface and a contoured rim for easier gripping. This is important as it provides a more sure footed surface for the birds as they land and perch. The shallow outer edge allows smaller birds to drink and bathe while the deeper middle accommodates the larger species.

The heater for the bath is hidden underneath the bowl, safely away from the water and the snow and ice. The basins which are constructed of plastic resin hold up well to the sub zero temperatures. And the water can be kept ice free in many models down to minus twenty degrees Fahrenheit. These winter models in most cases can also double as summer bird baths by storing the power cord beneath the bowl or in some cases it will detach from the basin.

Of the types that will attach to the railings of the deck, several of these have a tilt system that allows for easy cleaning of the water bowl so the mounting brackets do not have to be removed.

By: Alan Selby

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Alan Selby is a writer who specializes in reviewing various products.You can check out his latest website at Bird Baths For Sale, where he provides unbiased reviews and buying advice for a range of bird baths including the garden bird baths, garden bird baths and more.