How to choose a bird bath
A bird bath earns its place by being used, and birds are particular about three things: how deep the water is, whether they can grip the edge, and whether the spot feels safe. Get those right and the material matters much less than you would think.
What birds need
- Shallow water — about 2–3cm at the rim and no more than 5cm in the middle. Birds bathe by dipping, not swimming. Deeper than that and they will drink from it but not use it.
- A way out as well as in. A gently sloping bowl, or a stone left in the water, gives a wet bird somewhere to climb out instead of floundering.
- Something to grip. Glazed ceramic looks wonderful and offers claws nothing to hold. A rough cast concrete or stone surface is much easier to land on.
- Clean water. A bath topped up daily is used far more than one left to go green — and a dirty bath spreads disease between birds.
Concrete, stone, resin or glazed?
Every material has a trade-off between weight, frost and upkeep. This is the honest summary:
| Material | Weight and wind | Frost | Looking after it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast concrete | Heavy enough to stay put in a gale; a pedestal bath will not move in a storm. | Porous. Water that freezes inside a crack widens it over a few winters. | Empty the bowl before a hard freeze. Water and a stiff brush clean it. |
| Natural stone | Heaviest of all, and the most stable on a pedestal. | Very good; stone of this thickness is rarely troubled by frost. | Brush and water. It will weather and grow a little moss, which many people want. |
| Resin | Light. In an open garden it can blow over, and a resin bowl can crack when it lands. | Can become brittle in a hard frost — take it in or drain it. | Easy to move, so it suits a courtyard or a balcony rather than an exposed lawn. |
| Glazed ceramic | Heavy-ish but brittle: a knock in freezing weather can crack it. | Poor. Glazed pieces are best brought indoors for winter. | A soft cloth. Abrasive scrubbing dulls the glaze. |
Where to put it
- Within a few metres of a shrub or tree, so birds have somewhere to retreat to — but not so close that a cat can sit unnoticed underneath it.
- In partial shade. The water stays cooler and greens over more slowly, and birds use it more.
- Where you can see it. Most bird baths are bought to be watched from a window or a kitchen door.
- A metre or two from the feeder. Seed husks and droppings foul water quickly, and both stay cleaner apart.
Pedestal or ground level?
A pedestal raises the bath above a cat's reach. It does not make birds entirely safe — a cat can still wait underneath — but it helps a great deal, and it lifts the bath into view from the house, which is why most people choose one. Ground-level baths are the easiest for birds to find and use, and many gardens end up with both: a pedestal in the border, a shallow dish on the patio.
Ice, and why birds need water in winter
Birds need water for drinking as much as for bathing, and in a hard frost natural sources disappear. Pour warm water over ice — never boiling, which cracks stone and concrete — or leave a small ball floating in the bowl, which moves with the wind and stops a solid lid forming. Never add salt or antifreeze: it is fatal to birds.
Written by Garden Ornaments & Accessories. Last updated .