Providing water in a birdbath in the heat of summer can help more than just birds. Depending on the style of birdbath, you may keep a combination of squirrels, wild birds, toads, frogs, possums, raccoons, and rabbits hydrated.

Kinds of Birdbaths

A birdbath can be as simple as a saucer sitting on your balcony railing or patio floor (we suggest a rock to weigh the saucer down in windy areas). It can be as formal as a large three-level concrete fountain or a shallow-sloping water garden in the backyard.

Other choices include pedestal birdbaths, shallow plastic ponds that are inset into wooden decks, hanging saucer birdbaths, misting birdbaths, and more.

Bird Preferences

Different critters will use different types of birdbaths.

Most songbirds appreciate a misting birdbath. They will fly through the mist, then shake their feathers dry. Songbirds also appreciate pedestal or hanging birdbaths.

Squirrels will use pedestal birdbaths as well, while doves, rabbits, frogs, and toads will use only ground-level birdbaths,. Raccoons may occasionally use a water garden in addition to a ground-level birdbath.

Clean and Fill Birdbaths

The two most important items in connection with birdbaths: keep them filled and keep them clean. For those with a backyard, keeping a birdbath clean could be as simple as using a hose with a spray nozzle to spray out debris and refill the bath. For those with a smaller wildlife area, consider a smaller birdbath that can be soaked in a bucket of 10 parts water to 1 part bleach, rinsed, and refilled.

Examples

• Audubon Deck Mount Birdbath
• Astonica Petite Cast Aluminum Birdbath