People Are Urged to Check Their Bird Baths This Summer ‘Before It’s Too Late’: 'Even a Small...'

If birds could express their sentiments in words, they would probably say that even though the bird bath was filled with water, dead insects were tumbling in the puddle, the bathtub was too deep, maybe it stank of dead algae, or maybe the bathing experience was perfect unless an evil-eyed hawk swooped in to attack the guests due to poor location. Good that these innocent feathered critters don’t whine or complain. To prevent your birdie guests from leaving your bath displeased, you need to watch out for a few things. Gardener Dawn Ridgewell partnered with Construction Certification to raise awareness about the hidden dangers lurking in bird baths that bird-keepers should try to avoid at all costs, per The Mirror.

Ridgewell explained that, while birders are attentive enough to refill the bird bath with water, many a time they fail to pay attention to the bath bowl or saucer before filling it up. There could be a variety of residual or random objects creeping into the tiny bathhouse. The object could be twigs, leaf fragments, loose stones, gravel, plastic, litter, wooden splinters, or broken pieces of glass. These objects, Ridgewell explained, could pose a deadly choking hazard for the birds as they mistake these items for food. "It’s something most people don’t think about, but even a small twig can be enough to block a bird’s airway,” she said. “If everyone took just a few seconds each day to check their bird bath, we could prevent countless injuries and keep our gardens thriving with life,” the gardener added.

Added to this, there’s another factor that matters when the subject is the maintenance of a bird bath. Each bird has its own technique and way to take a bath. As dappled light shines on the bird bath, illuminating the pool of water, birds sitting in the trees and sleeping in birdhouses are attracted towards it. They would dive into the little pool, crash-landing on their bellies and splashing jet-streams of water. As Essex Wildlife Trust explains, every bird has a unique method and routine set up for the bathing ritual. The bigger blackbirds like robins, catbirds, thrashers, and cardinals are often the first candidates to take the bath, after which, the smaller ones follow.

While black-capped birds like to flick and flap their wings, starlings love to vigorously shake their feathers to wring the water from their bodies. Pigeons tend to bathe in slow motion, indulging in a meditative foot spa, and garden warblers prefer to bathe together with their mates. Others employ different movements and postures to clean themselves, such as dipping, submersing, fluffing, rolling, preening, and sometimes chirping to let you know how pleased they are with this wetting experience. Many of these critters have certain preferences. For instance, hummingbirds are attracted to the sound of water, which is why they prefer bird baths that feature drippers and fountains. 

Some would rather have hanging wet herbs or berries dangling over the bathtub. Different designs and features are favorable to different birds, but there’s one hallmark that most of them like to see when they visit your bird bath. The bowl, saucer, or tub, whatever style your bird bath is, needs to be shallow-sloped, so the birds feel safe that they won’t drown in deep water. Once you add these simple cleaning habits to your bird-keeping checklist, you can then enjoy that intimate sighting where glisten envelops the fuzzy body of a gem-throated fowl as it dips its fuzzy body into the bath pool and enjoys a splendid bath time – the intensity of thier playfulness is the best rating for your bird bath rental.