bird baths

Once some birds notice your bird bath or water bowl, they'll spread the word very quickly and other birds will also try it out. 

There are a few things you must do to keep them coming:

1. Clean the bird bath and refresh the water daily: if you can, if not, then every second day.  A bristle brush is ideal to scrub the sides, followed by a rinse with fresh water.  This is a necessary step, or else water will get stagnant, even mouldy, certainly filthy and eventually become a source of disease.

if you have placed a big stone or rock in the middle of the bowl to stop it from tipping over, you may find that this will get mouldy over time.  When that happens its best to have a couple of stones, and use them alternately, that gives each one the chance to dry out before being used again.

If the bird bath is not cleaned and refreshed regularly, the birds will stop coming as this will no longer be a viable drinking spot for them.

2. Observe Your Visitors:  Make a note of which birds have started to visit your place.  Are they able to drink comfortably? 

The first step in making friends with the wild birds - is to create the opportunities to see them often.

Not all of us have garden or are lucky enough to live at the edge of a rainforest or a green belt.  Fortunately, birds are all around us whether we live in the city in a multi-storied apartment block or we live in the suburbs or countryside surrounded by nice lawns, shrubs and trees. The first thing you need to is to give the birds an incentive to come to your home, close enough to enable you to start forming a friendship.

Every bird has its own unique personality, likes and dislikes.  Some are extroverts and like socialising.  Others are shy and feel more comfortable with just one or two friends,  preferring  to sit quietly by themselves till the crowds have gone.  Some are bold and daring, ready to try new things.  Some love singing and will croon loudly. Some never stop chirping and have much to say, while others will have their regular chat-times in the day when they will sit in their favourite nook and chortle.  And some are bossy, and lose no time in sending the others off to their bidding. There will always be some bird who is in alarmist, crying wolf at the smallest shadow and sending others off in a frenzy.

 The best way to observe them is at the water bath.   Their behaviour and sound will give you many clues about their personality.

Different species of birds have different needs regarding access to water and plants.  The extent and diversity of their territories and feeding habits influence their visiting times.  But even more interestingly the ability to negotiate their visiting and access rights with other birds who are considered by them as the rightful owners of the territory has a major impact on their movements.

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