So I thought it would be fun to put one of my trail cameras at one of the birdbaths in our yard to see who would visit in a 24 hour period. I wondered not only how many birds would come by but also what kinds of birds would use it. Do you have a birdbath on your property? Do you see lots of birds in a given day? Did you know you can add a birdbath heater, also called a de-icer to your birdbath?
I set up the trail camera on a tripod just a few feet from the bird bath and left it alone for the day. My bird bath has a de-icer in it to prevent it from freezing and breaking. Did you know this was possible? These range in price from $25 – over $50 but are totally worth it. Some days it gets pretty warm, but I just keep the heater in from November through spring. If you don’t have one of these I highly recommend it as it allows you to continue to offer water to the birds even during the winter. What I didn’t know was how important the hose for the heater has become to the birds, as they use it regularly to crawl down into the birdbath to get closer to the water. You can buy a birdbath heater/de-icer at hardware stores, and some stores that sell bird feeders and seed. Or it’s available on line.
Some people buy and put out birdbaths just for decoration but if you’re interested in having birds actually use it, either to drink from or to bathe in, location is important. I’ve seen birdbaths out in the middle of a green lawn, not a tree in sight and as you may guess, this is not ideal as birds want to have somewhere safe they can quickly retreat to. It is unlikely they will use a bath that leaves them so vulnerable to predators like hawks or cats. Place your birdbath close to a bush, tree or shrub where they can stop first to scope out the area and make sure it’s safe to get a drink.
I was amazed at how busy the bird bath was ALL DAY! From before it was even light until close to dark, the birdbath was being used. Lots of birds came to get a drink, or even to take a quick bath. I had hundreds of videos on my trail camera!!
Here it is!
If you want to help the wildlife in winter, AND get some free entertainment for yourself, I highly recommend adding a bird bath heater/de-icer to your yard. It’s such a great stress-free activity!