Last Updated on August 12, 2021 by Nancie
All birds need water. If you make it available year-round, you’ll find that it can be as much of an attraction as putting out seed or suet. In fact, birds that might have no interest in eating at a feeder may come to visit your yard if there is water. Providing water when the temperatures dip into freezing levels, requires some adjustments, but it isn’t hard.
Transitioning to Winter
During warm weather, providing clean water can be as easy as putting water out in a wide shallow container. Refill it with fresh water every day or two and clean it with a brush every now and then as needed. You can get more elaborate, with purchased birdbaths or add bubblers or fountains to keep water moving. But a do-it-yourself birdbath can work fine.
In winter, if you live in an area where the temperatures gets down to freezing, you need to make choices. Some birdbaths are not meant to be year-round and can crack in cold weather. (Read tags and labels when you purchase a birdbath to see if it can be used in cold weather.)
Put Away Terracotta
Two of my do-it-yourself birdbaths are terracotta plant saucers. They can crack, so I empty them and take them in for the winter months. Using a de-icer might eliminate water freeze-thaw cycles and reduce the potential for cracking. But I haven’t experimented with this myself with these terracotta containers.
Metal Birdbath Freezes Sometimes
During warm months, I have five birdbaths, two in the back and three in the front. In the winter, I have four, two back and two front. One of the two in the back is a small metal birdbath. It does not crack but isn’t really big enough to accommodate a de-icer. So in the winter, I just put water in this one. If it freezes, I clear out the ice and/or top it off with hot water to melt the ice for a little while.
Using a De-Icer
The other birdbath in the back and one in the front are plastic plant saucers placed on the ground. Last year I purchased a de-icer to use in the back bath and it worked beautifully to keep fresh unfrozen water available at all times. It was water the local birds could always count on to be there.
The front plastic saucer bath did not have a de-icer so like the metal birdbath, there were times when it had ice-free water and times when its water was frozen. I’m tempted to get a second de-icer for this one, but I don’t have a outdoor electric outlet close enough.
Heated Pet Bowl
The last birdbath sits on a small table on the front porch. For this one, I swap out the deep terracotta pot I use in warm weather with a deep heated plastic pet bowl. Because I put it in the same spot, the birds quickly get used to the replacement.
Like the terracotta pot, the pet bowl is deep. While it isn’t actually meant to serve as a bath, it does provide ice-free water in freezing temperatures. Birds will perch on the rim to drink. Even though it is deep, it is quite popular in the winter, with birds often queuing up to use it.
More Posts on Birdbaths
My Favorite Birdbath: Studio-M’s Birdbath Artpole
Does Your Hose Provide Clean Water For Your Birdbath?
Choosing & Maintaining Heated Birdbaths
My Newest DIY Birdbath Has Something To Hide!
Taking Care of Summer Birdbaths
Nancie
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