Just moved to a new joint and set up a bird bath and feeder, only to read learned comments on this forum about the spread of disease from feeding stations. So now I propose to use the new feeder platform for a second birdbath instead. But what of the disease risk in a birdbath? There must be thousands of birdbaths around the country, some scrubbed and replenished daily, some refilled only when empty, many neglected. Who can tell me how clean a birdbath needs to be? I know that starlings, sparrows, etc can foul a birdbath in seconds by pooping in it. No doubt this would spread disease. So I would think birdbaths need to be cleaned and replenished daily. Yes? No? Or is someone going to tell me that I shouldn't have a birdbath as well? Birds do seem to enjoy the bathing immensely (as well as quenching their thirst).
Good on you, Night Parrot, for using your new feeder platform to support a bird bath. The more we feed birds by planting their natural habitats the healthier the birds are likely to be.
Our bird bath is cleaned & refilled at least every 2 days in summer, less frequently in winter. It depends on who's been bathing in it & how often. When we had hordes of horrible starlings hanging around the house I sometimes had to clean our bird bath a couple of times a day in summer. The important thing is to keep your eye on its condition & the number of birds coming in to use it. If their numbers drop either the weather has become cooler or the water has become dirtier.
A bird bath doesn't have to be spotlessly cleaned with Ajax or Mr Jiff. Rock hole clean would perhaps be a guide but even rock holes can become fouled at least until the next thunderstorm. We clean our bird bath with a worn Scotchbrite pad (& water). No detergents or other nasties. The number of birds coming in to use the bath in summer is a good guide to its cleanliness which you can also judge but its turbidity & the number of feathers, poops, leaves, seeds & other detritus.
I haven't noticed any birds suffering from disease as a result of bathing in our (or their) bird bath.
I recommend that if you go away on holiday you have a system for ensuring the replenishment & cleanliness of the water.
In rural areas where human-made dams have stopped the natural flow of water & prevented the filling of rock holes in creeks, bird baths can be a substitute for those rock holes. This may apply even more so in suburbs where many a rock hole has been bulldozed.
An important consideration is protection of birds from cats so the bath needs to be close to vegetation cover. Dappled shade is also good for attracting birds all day through.
To attract a wide range of bird sizes it's a good idea to have a number of baths of varying depths from very shallow (wrens, finches, thornbills) to quite deep (rosellas, magpies & albatrosses).
Birds aren't the only creatures attracted to bird baths. We've had frogs, shingle-backed lizards, wasps, moths, western grey kangaroos & European honey bees visiting ours without overt invitation but not all at once due to crowding. A shallow bird bath on the ground can attract lizards & snakes.
As well, I get the impression that a number of bird species use our bird bath for socialising, particularly New Holland honeyeaters, so that may well be another benefit of bird baths.
No doubt other posters will have other bathing tips & tricks.
No tips I'm afraid. I just do what comes naturally. But in summer, no rains around, birds sit in the trees with wings out, panting, and I just had to have a bird bath for them. I dont' get lots of birds in, but the mickey birds, lorikeets and rosellas, magpies, and the odd thirsty visitor ensure the need for daily cleansing.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Yes Woko, a shallow bird bath on the ground does attract lizards and snakes,( I have seen a few snakes, but don't mind them), I also have seen our resident Echidna almost every night during summer, stick his nose in the water, he loves it. But he couldn't climb up anything.
M-L
Is a dirty birdbath better than no birdbath at all? I, (like most I suspect), have a shallow concrete birdbath that is very rarely cleaned.
I like to clean it, when time allows, while out watering and I have a hose handy, but I know I won't do it often. Am I really doing any harm? Is this birdbath doing anything different to a natural puddle? I am lucky at the moment, that Starlings and Sparrows don't come to my garden, mainly parrots, magpie, currawongs, robins, thornbills and honey-eaters. Is non-native bird-poo any more harmful than local?
Chastise me if you like, regards, Lazy Roger.
No birdbath at all I suspect. Look how humans are affected by contaminated water and how water-borne diseases like cholera are spread. I guess birds would be in the same boat, but I don't know. I am no scientist. Perhaps the bird diseases talked about in this forum are more likely to be spread by bird baths rather than bird feeders. Don't tell me I have converted my feeder platform to a second bird bath for the wrong reason! As for mynas, starlings and sparrows being more dirty than native species, I would guess that they are. I once pulled out a starling nest from the spouting and the young inside were crawling with lice. And the introduced birds habitually crap in their bathwater. As for natural puddles/rock pools, they dry up pretty regularly don't they and this might have a cleansing effect. But who knows how contaminated they get when they have water in them. I'll keep my own birdbath clean. I can't worry about everybody elses.
The water in my bird bath tends to get very hot during the day, and I like to refresh it mid afternoon in time for the evening visitors. Sometimes I refill it twice, especially if magpies have been in it (they empty it). I would like to think that beautiful birds like those rosellas are getting fresh water daily, my only way of helping them survive urban living.
Karen
Karen
Brisbane southside.
My observations of birds & our bird bath suggest that if the bath becomes dirty the birds will avoid it. As soon as I appear with the hose to clean it & replenish the water the birds appear nearby & that's a real bonus. A couple of hot days ago I was doing this & a family of 5 brown-headed honeyeaters didn't even wait for me to finish filling the bath before coming in. A youngster actually alighted on the edge of the bath momentarily before it's need for safety took over. Another flitted above the water near my face for a second or two before seeking an adjacent tree branch. The parents showed how it should be done by drinking from a couple of terracotta bowls on the ground but these were only 1.5 metres away from where I was standing.
I haven't heard of bird baths contributing to bird disease. I wouldn't drink the water, especially after starlings & sparrows have been dabbling in it but I haven't noticed any drop in the bird population because of the bird bath. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Our neighbours' dam is now quite putrid looking after some weeks of hot weather & no rain & I notice that no birds visit it. Another neighbour's dam is far less putrid looking (it's larger & has far less stock using it) & although there's been no rain for some time it still attracts 3 species of duck, the odd Australasian grebe &, a week ago, a black-fronted plover.
So I would say that birds are sensitive to water quality & will protect themselves by avoiding water they consider to be unpalatable. This may well protect them from disease as well.
Your observations that birds are discerning about water quality is heartening. And I agree about the benefits of birdbaths, especially in hot dry times. (I have heard of small birds like wrens literally dropping dead out of the sky on scorching days). In Karen's words: "My only way of helping them survive urban living". I noted your comments about dams. Just as there are thousands of birdbaths around the country there must also be thousands of dams that help aquatic birds to survive. (On a plane trip anywhere around Australia one can get a good idea of just how many dams there are scattered around the countryside). Its a pity that stock degrade them (and watercourses) so badly, enough to turn off the birds. It would be nice if thay could all be fenced off from stock and the water piped to troughs for the stock. But that's not going to happen because of the expense involved. Dream on.
Good comments about dams, Night Parrot. It's a damn (pun intended) shame that the destruction of wetlands has made birds dependent on artificial dams. I understand there are some farmers who fence off creeks & have designated watering points for stock but, overall, this doesn't seem to be a priority. Perhaps it'll become so as stock-caused erosion takes their soil away.
I'm not sure what happens to birds who are used to having a constant supply of bird bath water when the bird bath provider is away on holidays, especially if the weather has been hot. "Our" bird population would take a few days to return to normal after we returned from holidays to find that our system for maintaining the water level had broken down.
Here's an example of a bird bath encouraging social behaviour as well as good hygiene among New Holland honeyeaters.
Wow Woko, well done, don't stop now, this photo is great. Welcome to the world of modern technology.
M-L
Why, thank you Araminta. That's right neighourly of you. Mind you, I have Ms Woko behind me pushing all the way.