{"id":16937,"date":"2015-07-03T01:05:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T08:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/?p=16937"},"modified":"2015-07-03T03:23:13","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T10:23:13","slug":"bird-baths-for-the-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/bird-baths-for-the-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird Bath Tips for the Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/1905080417\/richardpettin-21\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/1604694874.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\" alt=\"Book Cover\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Birds often struggle through our cold winters in the UK and the USA. I guess that is why some of them migrate.\u00c2\u00a0 However in the early spring they will be hatching and fledging so they need access to water and the gardener\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s answer is a bird bath and a pond.<br \/>\n<strong>Where to Locate Your bird Bath<\/strong><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Birds will use a bird bath if they feel safe and have an escape route into cover.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Locate the bath near suitable hedges or trees<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Make it hard for cats to lurk near the bath using vegetation as cover<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Place the birdbath where the birds can see the area around it and where there are no hiding places for predators<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Place away from direct sun as this prevents algae growth in the bath.<br \/>\n<strong>What Features are Needed<\/strong><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 A shallow bath is adequate and a deep bath dangerous. Birds can drown so cover deep water or bridge the water with a plank or similar.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The birds need a place to stand and a perch or twig may help.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Bird baths on a pedestal are most popular.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 A small diameter bath allows birds to see over the edge and be prepared for danger.<br \/>\n<strong>Other Tips for Bird Baths<\/strong><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Ensure good hygiene by cleaning out every week. Dirty water can spread disease.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Ensure water during frosty times \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is when birds need it most.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Nature provides bird baths in ponds and puddles. They are not accessible in freezing weather so like your fish pond it is worth keeping a space ice free.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Design of Bird Baths<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A good bird bath has a sturdy construction that will not wobble or fall.<\/li>\n<li>The bath should be accessible so it is easy to fill and clean.<\/li>\n<li>Birds appreciate shallow sloping sides with a shallow approach to water.<\/li>\n<li>To allow different species to bathe the water should be 1-4 inches deep.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure the surface of the bath is rough so birds can grip it with their claws, and not slip.<\/li>\n<li>The vigorous bathing of a flock of starlings can use up a lot of water, so make sure your bird bath is big enough!<\/li>\n<li>Whilst you are in DIY mode to help your birds why not add some more feeders and nest boxes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/1905080417\/richardpettin-21\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/images.amazon.com\/images\/P\/1402713738.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg\" alt=\"Book Cover\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>RSPB advice on Bird Baths<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The simplest bird bath is\u00c2\u00a0a plant saucer with textured finish and a stone in the middle You could set several of these around your garden., but is light enough to make it easy to clean and refill.<\/li>\n<li>You could use a dustbin lid sunk into the ground,or supported on stones or posts. If the lid is shiny or slippery, a thin layer of gravel on the bottom (this makes it more difficult to clean though).<\/li>\n<li>A shallow stone in the middle will help birds get to the water in comfort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Bird Baths<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B00C8SJS6O\/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1435908815&amp;sr=8-7&amp;keywords=bird+bath\"> from Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/KINGFISHER-TRADITIONAL-BRONZE-OUTDOOR-WEATHERPROOF\/dp\/B00F2IY9TS\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1435903021&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=bird+bath\">Bath2<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Birds often struggle through our cold winters in the UK and the USA. I guess that is why some of them migrate.\u00c2\u00a0 However in the early spring they will be hatching and fledging so they need access to water and the gardener\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s answer is a bird bath and a pond. Where to Locate Your bird Bath \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Birds will use a bird bath if they feel safe and have an escape route into cover. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Locate the bath near suitable&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/bird-baths-for-the-garden\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}