Howdy

I wonder if anyone knows, or has experience with, preferred kinds of places in a garden for a bird bath? Or to put it another way: what features around a bird bath makes it comfortable for birds to use?

I have several bird baths and have always wondered why some get used more than others. The bird species around here tend to use just the one bath. It is in a remote corner, in part shade, has very good visibility of the surrounding environs, and an easy-to-reach perch nearby.

What, from your experience, draws a bird to a specific bath location?

greenriverfs said:
It is in a remote corner, in part shade, has very good visibility of the surrounding environs, and an easy-to-reach perch nearby.

I would only add nearby food sources.

I have 2 bird baths up now in the summer, and both get used. I have annuals planted near them, so they're only partially open. But the biggest difference I see when changing bird baths is that they don't like the slippery glazed type, they'll always prefer the rough finished bowls like concrete.

In the winter they don't get a choice, they get the glazed slippery one because I'm not scrubbing a bird bath in 10° twice a week. The glazed one can be just wiped out and done and they make do. I'm also afraid of the conrete ones cracking in winter.

Birds like a site with good clear visibility in many directions so they won't get ambushed, but with some dense bushes close by to dive into when there is danger.
The single most attractive thing (if you can arrange it) is a small pipe delivering a tiny trickle of water from about 6" above the bath.

In my yard, birds are in danger from house cats, hawks, snakes--and my dogs. It's a dangerous world.
The birds like a place where they can perch up above and look things over to see if any predators are lurking before they come down to the water. Sometimes there will be one lookout bird to sound a warning if needed. They also like some brush to hide in if needed, but with no real low branches to hide the cats.
Great question!
Not the best picture, but you can see why sometimes there's only one bird on my feeder.

I place a couple angular cobble sized rocks in the bottom of my bird waterer. They stick up 1/2 to 1 inch to gives the birds a place to stand.

What Hortica said .......

Wet birds' ability to fly efficiently is limited by the weight of the water that gets trapped in their plumage, which is why birds are much more willing to frequent BBs in the immediate vicinity of good protective cover just a couple of wing beats away.

I have popular BBs, one just below the lowest branches of a black pine and the other nestled tight to a 20' tall arborvitae hedge.






Al