Providing water in winter, on a budget
Night time temperatures have been dipping a bit in my area of the country, leaving an icy reminder of the coming winter on the edges of my bird bath. Water will soon become a much coveted resource as available sources begin to freeze. Before we got our bird bath heater, I would watch the Robins peck holes in the ice to get to the water underneath. When they were finished, the finches and sparrows would flock to the free water to drink and bathe. After we purchased the heater, we had a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds hang out in the yard for a few days in December as they were getting ready to migrate.
Birds need water as much in the winter as they do in the heat of summer. Temperatures may be cooler, but their ability to stay warm is dependent on clean feathers. Since most shallow water freezes, there is almost no water available. Many birds will eat snow to remain hydrated, but this cools their bodies.
There are a variety of bird bath heaters which will keep your bath free of ice. They can be a little expensive to purchase, but are not very expensive to run. I recommend saving and getting one of at least medium quality. A little extra investment now will save you from making a repeat purchase next year. The nicer ones also generally shut off if your bird bath goes dry which is a nice feature to have. The one we purchased was $30.
If that is not in your budget, you can still offer water to your birds. Before we got our heater, I poured fresh, hot water in the bath twice a day. I went out at the same time each morning and afternoon and it did not take long for the birds to learn the schedule. They would gather in the bushes and chatter noisily while I filled the bath and checked to make sure I hadn’t made it too hot before going inside.
If you do not have a bird bath, I posted an entry some time ago about selecting bird baths. Some places may have them on sale currently, but it is not an item that needs to be stored away until Spring! Cleaning your bird bath is also still important.
birding, backyard birding, birdwatching, bird bath
November 7th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Very great informative post! Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely have to keep the water going all winter for my birdies!
Sherry
November 7th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
So before I head out and search all over town for an inexpensive heater, where did you find yours?
I will be posting some more pic’s of our backyard birds soon!
Melisa
November 7th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I believe we got it at Menard’s, but there was a nice selection at the Wild Bird Habitat Store that were similarly priced.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Cool that the birds learned the warm water schedule! We finally bought a heated bath a couple years ago and it made a huge difference in bird viewing for us! (I think the birds enjoy it also!
)
I love that bird bath heaters are becoming more affordable, but even at a higher cost, they can last for years so I think it is worth it!
November 8th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I agree, Birdfreak! The more affordable heaters are really nice. I never would have thought we would buy one, but they have really come down in price.
I never would have thought of supplying water otherwise, but I read it in one of the books we checked out from the library and tried it.