Why use a hanging bird bath?
A hanging bird bath is the perfect way to attract songbirds to your your garden by providing them a safe, discrete area to get a drink or a quick bath.
Do birds like to use a hanging bird bath?
A hanging bird bath can quickly become a favourite go-to spot for weary songbirds looking for a quiet secluded place to bathe or get a drink.
The very nature of the hanging bird bath provides some immediate protection for birds. It’s usually mounted high off the ground a safer distance from predators like cats or even foxes and coyotes.
The trick is deciding the best location to hang the birdbath.
The chickadee was captured on the hanging bird bath just as the sun was rising creating a lovely rim light on the bird.
Where should you put a hanging bird bath?
Unlike a typical bird bath, hanging bird baths can be tucked away in the foliage of a favourite tree or large shrub where the birds feel more safe and are able to fly to a taller branch for a quick getaway from most predators.
A hanging bird bath in a tree can also help protect songbirds from aerial attacks from predators such as hawks or owls who don’t see them hidden in the thick foliage or are unable to easily navigate through the tangle of branches to strike the songbirds.
But, for me, the greatest asset to using hanging birdbaths in the garden is the magic they create when hung in a tree beside my favourite sitting place.
I love being able to watch the birds fly onto a branch, make their way to the birdbath and either steal a quick drink or a bath all the while tucked away among the tree’s foliage.
Cardinals, Chickadees, the Tufted Titmouse, and Nuthatches are all regulars to the hanging birdbath. Our resident chipmunks sometimes sneak a drink as well.
Imagine what the birds are thinking when they first discover a puddle of water floating in their favourite tree, tucked away maybe even hidden in the tree’s foliage. It’s almost like they have found their own secret little garden oasis.
I like to put a small, fly-through bird feeder nearby or even floating above the bird bath to complete the perfect secret hideout for the birds.
Our hanging bird bath is tucked away inside the open branches of our mature yellow magnolia tree that overlooks the patio and is in line with my view into the garden. The bird bath sits beside a rustic birdhouse mounted to the tree’s trunk and a small fly-through ceramic bird feeder where they can stop for a sunflower seed or two before making their way to the birdbath.
Adding a hanging bird bath to your backyard is a great way to bring birds in close. You can either buy one or take the challenge and create your own. Using an existing hanging basket is a great way to easily create a DIY bird bath.
In that small area is everything a songbird could ever want.
In fact, one of my fondest memories last year was watching a family of chickadees visiting the birdbath early in the morning as the sun rose behind them. The warm, rim light caught them perched on the edge of the birdbath taking turns drinking and bathing.
At the time, however, I did not have the camera by my side and missed the fleeting shot. The next morning I was ready with the camera and, sure enough, the chickadees returned for their morning baths providing me with a few minutes to capture them backlighted and celebrating a new day breaking in their secret garden.
Sitting and just observing the birds opens up a world of photographic possibilities. As the birds become accustomed to your presence, images like these become much easier and even predictable.
For more on adding bird baths to your yard, be sure to check out my other posts:
• Best bird bath for the garden
What are the best hanging birdbaths?
The best hanging bird baths are shallow enough to entice our smaller songbirds, with a rough enough surface to ensure they can get in and out easily and large enough to accommodate a couple of birds at a time.
Larger birds, such as Blue Jays, Mourning doves and Robins, tend to use the traditionally sized bird baths that are deeper, but will still come to hanging bird baths.
Also, larger birds tend to cause the hanging bird baths to swing more when they come in for a landing making them an uncomfortable spot for these birds when the more traditional bird baths are available. It’s always a good idea to have several different bird baths available to accommodate a variety of needs.
Our hanging bird bath is made from terracotta with a blue glazed ceramic bottom that prevents water from seeping through the terracotta base. The entire birdbath can be easily lifted off of the metal holder for quick cleaning. Three chains clip on to the metal holder and a large hook allows you to attach it to a branch or metal hanger.
The terracotta rim gives the birds a solid footing on landing, but the slippery glazed ceramic presents some challenges for birds who, I think, find the footing a little precarious at times. I like to put a small flat stone in the water to provide a comfortable spot for the birds to drink from.
Buy a hanging bird bath or make your own?
There are several commercial hanging bird baths to choose from. Look for ones that are easily tucked away in a tree or can be hung from a hook and would not break if battered around. This hammered copper hanging bird bath available at Amazon.com is an excellent choice. Besides looking great and aging beautifully, a copper bird bath has inherent anti-bacterial properties that helps to keep the water clean.
Other, less expensive examples include this simple terracotta coloured plastic tray also from Amazon. By adding a handful of pea gravel in the bottom smaller birds can feel safe.
This metal hanging bird bath is deep enough to double as a bird feeder say, during winter months.
If you are looking to add a beautiful piece of art to your yard, you might be interested in Evergreen’s beautiful Dragon fly motif glass handing bird bath. Evergreen on-line retailer of garden items, carries several different glass bird baths with various designs.
This Dragon fly, glass hanging bird bath that can double as a bird feeder, would make an elegant addition to any garden.
The dragonfly design features two light blue dragonflies making a whimsical statement against a green, yellow, and orange patterned background. This colorful hanging bowl, that can hold up to 3 cups of birdseed, can be used as either a birdbath or bird feeder. The bowl hangs from a metal chains that have a weather-resistant finish eliminating any worry about rust. The high-quality glass design, means it can be rinsed off for easy cleaning. Each bowl is approximately 14 inches in diameter and holds up to 32 ounces of liquid.
If you would prefer not to use glass in the garden, these elegant ceramic hanging bird baths from on-line retailer Vivaterra might interest you. Available in both Green and Blue, these unique ceramic hanging bird baths are embossed with a bird pattern giving it a charming detailed accent to your garden. The hanging baths provide the necessary depth for birds to bathe and relax comfortably.
These ceramic bird baths will add an elegant touch to any garden.
Hanging bird bath is simple DIY project
Making your own is also not difficult. You can create a hanging bird bath as simple as drilling three holes into a plastic bowl and using copper wire and a hook to attach it to a branch, or tackle a more elaborate set up by creating a more natural bird bath decorated on the outside with branches and moss.
Another idea is to use an existing hanging basket. Plant up the edges of the hanging basket with lots of spillers, but leave the center open to insert a plastic bowl for the birds. The flowers should eventually hide the bowl from site. The combination is not only attractive, but it will create a potentially terrific outdoor photo studio where you can capture the birds bathing among the flowers and foliage.
Six best buys to attract birds (A few of my favourites)
When it comes to attracting backyard birds, you can never have enough feeders, birdbaths and bird houses but here are five best-buy items for backyard birders.
How to attract backyard birds with feeders, fountains and birdbaths
Backyard birders are always looking for the next best thing to attract more birds to their backyard.
A fancy new bird feeder, a ground bird bath and a few new bird houses are always welcome additions.
Here are six favourite accessories backyard bird lovers should consider: a bird feeding pole system; a seed cylinder spike; a hummingbird swing; bird bath algae remover or a good cleaning brush, a solar fountain; and high quality bird feed.
The joy birds bring and the life they add to our gardens makes buying these accessories all worthwhile.
Over the years, I’ve discovered more than a few items that have helped attract birds to the backyard and I thought I’d share some of them here with you. I’ve left out my trusty hummingbird swing that you can read about in a separate post here.
While I get great enjoyment from my bird feeding stations, providing natural food sources to our feathered friends is always the goal we should aspire to in our gardens. I have written a comprehensive post on feeding birds naturally. You can read about it here.
For more suggestions and some of my favourite garden things, be sure to check out my Favourite Things post.
1) Bird Feeding Pole System
Without a doubt my most important purchase some 20-plus years ago was a bird feeding pole system that allowed me to build a comprehensive bird feeding station over several years. It was purchased at Wild Birds Unlimited and has truly stood the test of time. Start with a simple pole, stabilizing system and squirrel baffle and add to that one element at a time depending on both the type of birds in your area and the species you want to attract. A simple pole can start as low as $22-$23 such as this one from Perky-Pet. A few dollars more will get you the Pennington Premium Feeder Pole Plus Bird Feeder System with a more heavy-duty, powder coated finish steel pole with hangers for feeders. This is a great starter kit that would allow you to put up at least three different feeders and provide feed for a wide variety of backyard birds.
A young woodpecker takes a turn at the cylinder seed feeder that sits atop our birdfeeding pole system as a blue jay waits its turn.
Moving up from there, is the Premium Bird Feeding Station Kit from yosager for under $160.00 Cdn that includes a metal suet feeder, bird bath, feeding bowl for fruits or meal worms, as well as twin top hooks to hang large bird feeders. The station also includes 5 prongs that go into the ground to stabilize the feeding station. The stabilizing bars can be important to hold the units especially if you have sandy soil. I use two large rocks on my stabilizing bars to keep the unit super stabilized.
2) The Seed Cylinder and spike accessory
Keeping with the pole system, my best accessory without a doubt has been a spike topper that has played a key roll in bringing a huge variety of birds to my feeder. Not only have the seed cylinders that fit over the spike helped to bring a variety of birds to the feeder, but the birds who do visit stay at the feeder longer working to get the seeds from the compressed feed cylinder.
Mine was a simple spike that could be added to the top of the feeder system as a rather inexpensive accessory. Wild Bird Unlimited’s pole systems are expensive but the accessories are numerous and well thought out.
The Mr. Bird Seed Cylinder EZ Feeder system, though a little pricey for the feeder and the seed cylinders, is a great alternative to the spike topper and allows you to use the system in a variety of ways. The number of seed cyclinders are impressive and offer mixtures to attract a host of different birds throughout the seasons. The heavy duty unit holds both the small and large seed cylinders and the bottom hook allows you to link several feeders together. Similar to the spike I use, the seed cylinders are simply slid over the main shaft of the unit.
A less expensive alternative is the Heath Mfg. Co. Stack’Ms Seed Cake Feeder for under $22 Cdn. This unit has a roof to protect the pucks from rain and snow. It can hold up to 4 stack’Ms pucks allowing you to offer a wider variety of seeds. The perch at the bottom of the unit is great for smaller birds. A word of warning, reviewers say the roof screws into the spike and its not uncommon for the threads to get stripped. Do not over tighten the unit. The pucks are also expensive but I have seen similar items for sale locally at much cheaper prices.
3) Bird bath algae remover or a good cleaning brush
Bird baths can get gross real fast. Algae tends to get a hold of them quickly during the summer months and even if you change the water regularly, and give them a good scrubbing, it’s difficult to eliminate the algae.
That’s when you turn to one of the Algae remover microbe clarifiers that seem to work well in keeping the water clear.
A few drops once a week is usually all it takes to keep the bird baths clear. Add a few drops after cleaning the bath and then just top up the water adding the cleaner once a week or as needed.
There are several available. I have had a bottle for a number of years that continues to work despite being left outside in the shed all winter. The label is long worn off, so I can’t tell you what type it is but here are a couple that should work for you. Sanco Bird Bath & Fountain Maintenance, 100% safe for birds and wildlife and uses natural enzymes to keep the water and birdbath clean. Aquascape Clean Water Treatment used primarily for fountains, waterfalls container water gardens.
The Microbe Lift 32-Ounce Pond Bird Bath and Statuary Cleaner says it combines biodegradable resources and technology along with micro emulsion technology to safely remover organic debris and mineral deposits. It’s safe for use around birds, animals and humans and gets top ratings from users experienced with the product.
Of course a solid cleaning brush and a weekly scrubbing and daily water refresh gets the job done as well but requires us to stay on top of the situation. If you have several bird baths they can be difficult to keep clean.
4) Solar fountains
I have mentioned these before in other blogs and have to recommend them again here for their multiple uses in the garden. These small, inexpensive solar pumps can be used anywhere in the garden where you can get some sun. I use two of the smaller pumps – one as a recirculating pump in a bird bath tied to a dripper, and another in my container water garden pond to circulate the water and create a gentle fountain stream for hummingbirds to enjoy. I use a larger, more expensive unit in a bubbling rock. This unit came complete with a battery to allow me to run a small led light and the pump during the evening or on an overcast day. Both the large and small units have worked perfectly for several years.
5) Quality bird seed
Feeding the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and racoons can get expensive. Keeping squirrels and racoons off the feeder is the first step to solving the problem. The second is using a high quality feed that ensures the birds eat all the food rather than digging through it and throwing most of it on the ground. When too much food accumulates on the ground it can create a real mess and lead to unwanted rodents like mice and rats. This often leads to people new to birdfeeding deciding not to continue feeding the birds, when all they had to do was move to one of the no-mess feeds that are usually made up of high-value seeds that have already been shelled. The seed is expensive but there is no filler. The bag of seed, providing squirrels don’t have access to your feeders, will last much longer than a regular bag of assorted bird feed.
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