Learn About the Drinking and Bathing Habits of Your Visiting Birds
Birds drinking and bathing habits
When you provide seeds and other treats for the birds in your back yard and or garden, it is very important that you also provide fresh water near by. People who have water available for the birds, such as ponds, swimming pools, water fountains, and or decorative birdbaths on their properties will always attract a wide range of birds without even feeding them.
Small seed eating birds need to drink many times a day. They loose a lot of fluid through their droppings and respiration. They find water from a dripping hose, pipe or even morning dew on a leaf, and this can be sufficient for a small birds daily needs. Birds that live in snowy winter conditions will do well on eating snow.
It is also important for birds to take baths. Baths loosens up the dirt and dust that the birds pick up every day, and makes it easier for the bird to preen its feathers and have an overall healthier appearance. When you watch birds taking baths you will notice how they crouch in the water, flick their little wings and ruffle their little feathers. This behavior will help to spread the water over their whole body. After the birds are done, they will shake of the access water and start to preen their feathers to get them back into position.
The best thing to do though is to provide a birdbath or a pond for the visiting birds.
Using a birdbath that is simple, but yet sturdy and not to heavy, will be the easiest one to refill and keep clean.
The birdbath should have a dept of between 1-4 in (2.5-10 cm) so all different size birds can enjoy it. It should also have sloping sides and shallow edges. If possible the birdbath should also have a rough bottom, for the bathing birds to grip on to with their claws.
Make sure that the birdbath is big enough to accompany several birds at once and also can withstand a vigorous bathing time. Since the birds are more venerable when they are bathing, safety comes in numbers.
Keeping your birdbaths clean is important for many healthy reasons, especially in hot weather when algae grow faster. Birdbaths are also breeding farms for mosquitoes and for such diseases as salmonella. Your birdbaths should therefore be cleaned once a week to keep everyone around healthy.
If you live in very cold areas, remember that in the winter months your birdbaths will freeze over, so always check the birdbaths once a day. If they are frozen just break trough the ice so the birds can drink from them. Absolutely, do not use antifreeze, this can damage the waterproofing of their plumage, and even kill them. Antifreeze will act as a poison to birds. There are birdbath heathers available to buy. If you do have fountains you know that those will not freeze over, therefore fountains are a better choice to have for birdbaths if you live in cold areas.
Use a stiff brush for the job, to make sure you scrub of all the algae and droppings and get into all the ridges where lots of bugs and insects can hide. A clean birdbath will always bee much nicer to look at for your family as well as your friends.
