Find out how to provide water for wild birds on your porch, patio, deck, or balcony.

Quick Tip

Place your water feature far from any feeders, to avoid feed from falling into and contaminating the water source.

How to Provide

You can provide water as a birdbath, a water feature like a fountain or mister, a plant next to a fountain, or any combination of these three elements.

Water Will Attract

Providing water is almost a sure-fire way of ensuring birds visit your wildlife porch. Birds use water not only to drink but also to groom their feathers.

Valuable Resource

For wild birds water sources are often less common than food or shelter resources. In winter, birds use more energy drinking snow or icy water, and in summer water sources can be few and far between.

Plants

Some birds like bathing by rubbing against wet leaves. If you can place a container shrub next to a water feature with a fountain or mister, you might attract a greater number of birds.

Considerations

Any water source you provide for wild birds should

• be emptied and refilled frequently
• cleaned periodically with a solution of one parts bleach to nine parts water
• be warmed in freezing temperatures with simple birdbath or water feature heaters