BIRD BATHS
The benefits of bird baths and why everyone should provide
water stations in their gardens to help wild birds visiting our
gardens.
£9.95 Ceramic Bird Bath, Garden4you
There are many ways to provide water stations in your gar-
den. The easiest is to buy a bird bath. You can find them in
every garden centre or online and there are a variety of dif-
ferent ones to match each individual garden style. Also, you
can provide water by simple putting a container or a large
flat bowl, that has shallow sloping sides and ideally the depth
should vary between 2.5cm and 10cm to allow more species
of bird to use the bath. It is important that the surface of the
bath is grit so the birds can grip with their claws and not slip.
Birds will only use the bath if they
feel safe so when deciding
where to place your bath
you need to bare a few
things in mind. Firstly,
birds need to have clear
visibility of the bath as
they bathe. Make sure that
cats won’t be able to jump
on the bath, simply place
it away from bushes or
fences.
It is very important that
you do clean the baths
regularly and provide fresh
water daily. Providing fresh
water daily during the summer is very
import as well. Many people provide a
wide range of food in their gardens but
not many provide a water source. Back
door birds need water for drinking and
bathing especially in the hot months
during the hot summer days.
The birds that feed themselves with
seeds have a dry diet and therefore
they need to drink more water. Be-
cause birds don’t have sweat glands
like mammals they don’t need as much
water but they lose water through
respiration. By providing water birds
can easily maintain a healthy diet.
Birds also need to have baths time to
Above Long-tailed Tit, left Blue Tit.
time and at higher frequen-
cies during the summer. That
keeps their feathers in good
condition and dampening their feathers in water will
keep them clean by removing the dirt which makes
their feathers easier to preen.
If you have larger garden you might consider having
a pond. This will attract more bird species and will
also create a more
natural and wild-
life friendly hab-
itat. Also, ponds
often attract birds
that are shyer and
don’t use bird
baths.
£24.99 Bird Bath with 3 Glazed Feet, Primrose
Summer 2019 Wild Garden 5