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Your Bird Oasis Posting Page
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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| Robin in Bird Bath |
Many songbirds take regular baths. In the winter, these baths may be short and restricted to the warmest parts of the day and only once every couple of weeks. But in the warmer months, some birds like American Robins bathe up to several times a day! Baths may also function as a source of water since birds need to drink just not nearly so much as we do. Small birds without a constant source of water such as a river or pond will drink dewdrops off of leaves in the morning. Birds at sea, like pelicans, who are surrounded by water that they cannot drink, sometimes simply open their bills during a rain shower.
When choosing a birdbath, perching sites and depth should be considered. More perching area and a wider basin means more birds can bathe at a time. A wide basin is great, but it shouldn’t be too deep. As a rule, the smaller the bird you want to attract, the shallower the basin should be. Keep in mind that a basin that is only an inch or two deep along its entire width will dry out very quickly due to evaporation! For this reason, a popular shape for birdbath basins are wide ones that are shallow at the edges and gradually get deeper, up to a maximum depth of 4 inches. A perch or rocks may be added to the deeper section to allow small birds to perch there as well.
Finally, location is all-important. The birdbath should be placed high enough to be out of reach of
housecats. It should also be placed in the open so that birds can see all around them and are not easily startled by a predator lurking close by. It is ideal to have some shrubby cover nearby (about 4-5 feet away) so birds have a place to fly to if an aerial predator should pay them a visit. This requirement, open enough but with cover close by, is a bit fidgety, but you’ll know when you’ve got it right because birds will visit it frequently! If you think you’ve got a great location but birds aren’t coming to it, move it a couple of feet and wait another week until you start having visitors. Patience will pay off!
You should maintain any birdbaths that you have outside for a couple of reasons. The first is that a properly maintained birdbath is more attractive for birds, and the second is that you want to attract birds and not hatch mosquitoes! A birdbath needs to be cleaned every three days or so. In some cases the bath may simply be emptied and refilled to rid it of any debris or guano. In some cases, the bath must be scrubbed with hot water and a scouring brush, as is the case if you’ve spotted fungus or algae in the basin. A bath may be made more attractive to birds and less likely to provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes if a water wiggler or fountain bird bath is added to move the water constantly. Labels: Lily Bird Bath
by: Your Bird Oasis
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