I recently added a bird bath to my backyard. (This is the one I actually got.) I’d always heard that birds loved them, but that may have just been the Bird Bath Producers Association talking.
Well, after the first few days of fairly constant monitoring, I didn’t really see that it was getting much use.
Then I levelled it out, instead of letting it have a deep end of the pool and a shallow end.
Results improved rather dramatically.
I’m sure there are multiple factors besides the evenness of the bird bath itself that figure in here, but I’ve seen it getting regular (that is, daily) use for a few weeks now.
I think keeping the water fresh is pretty important, so having a hose nearby is handy. You’ll start noticing which birds visit first after fresh water is added.
For example, just today I had a new visitor - a Common Grackle.
He had a really interesting ritual.
First, he discovered he liked the peanuts in the upright circular feeder. He’d peck away at one until he got the nut out. This is in contrast to Blue Jays who usually take the whole shell and run (er…fly) with it.
The nut would fall to the ground, so the grackle went in search of it. He usually found it almost immediately.
But then…he hopped up on the bird bath with nut in beak and gave it a dunking! Then he either ate it or - just as often - flew off with it. So I’m not sure if he always ate it right away or stored it for later snacking.
It was just cool to watch him.
And isn’t that what birdwatching is all about?