Ultra Outdoors
Not every animal is a welcomed guest in your backyard, but birds are generally known to be desirable visitors in outdoor spaces.
What better way to wake up than to the song of birds chirping in your backyard in the morning? Whether you want to attract birds to your yard or take care of the birds that have already taken up residence, adding a bird bath to your space is a great way to make it bird-friendly.
If you’re looking for original bird bath ideas to make your backyard the most attractive hang-out spot on the block, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to discover seven bird bath ideas to make it a peaceful paradise for your neighborhood birds.
Why Have a Bird Bath?
Before getting into the top bird bath ideas, you may wonder: why have a bird bath at all?
You may want to add a birdbath to your back or front yard for several reasons. For starters, birds always need a supply of fresh water. When you add a bird bath to your yard, you supply that to your local birds and provide them with an additional resource for water.
What’s more, a bird bath is a great way to attract birds that don’t already come to visit your yard, even if you already have a bird feeder. Adding a birdbath in your yard may attract birds that wouldn’t otherwise come to your feeders, such as bluebirds. Not only do you increase the variety of birds in your yard, but you may also attract more desirable and melodious birds.
Now that you know all of the reasons to have a bird bath, let’s talk about what you need in your bird bath.
Bird Bath Essentials
A good bird bath has a strong, sturdy construction because, as graceful as we may envision them, birds don’t always land lightly, and the last thing you want is for them to be injured from your bird bath.
At the same time, you want your bird bath to be light enough to refill and clean when necessary. If you need to move your bird bath around your yard, you might want to avoid heavy materials, such as a stone or concrete bird bath.
Your bird bath should also be shallow all around. It should have shallow sloping sides, and the water should also be shallow, between one to four inches deep, to ensure that all species can bathe in it without possibly drowning. The surface of your shallow bird bath should be rough enough to allow species to grip it with their claws without slipping.
Now that you know what birds expect from a bird bath, let’s explore the top seven bird bath ideas that will make you popular among the neighborhood birds.
Top 7 Bird Bath Ideas
Bird baths come in all types of shapes and sizes. What makes it fun is that you can get creative with making your bird bath. You can even create them from items you already have in your home!
Without further ado, here are the top seven bird bath ideas to spruce up your yard.
Serving Dish Bird Bath
The first bird bath idea on our list is to make a bird bath out of a serving dish.
Everyone has a serving dish collecting dust in storage. Or perhaps it’s a serving dish that was gifted to you a decade ago that wasn’t your style. Serving dishes are the perfect base for bird baths as they’re shallow and often have shallow, sloping sides. To elevate your serving dish, you can attach it to a stand that you can make yourself out of pieces of wood, or better yet, use an upcycled table leg to get even more creative.
The only thing to be careful of is that your serving dish is made of material rough enough for birds to grip. Smooth ceramic is not ideal, but something more textured works perfectly.
Lamp Bird Bath
Our next bird bath idea is to make a bird bath out of a repurposed lamp.
A lamp can be repurposed to have many different functions, even to become a bird bath. The success of this unique bird bath design depends largely on the shape of your lamp. For the most part, you mainly need the lamp base to which you can attach a shallow bowl to the top after.
Make sure to remove all the electrical wiring and extra lamp parts. You’ll also want to remove any unnecessary hardware. Once all of that is done, clean the lamp. This is the point where you can also paint it if you wish. Once dry, coat the lamp with clear enamel to weatherproof it.
This is where you’d add your serving bowl to the top of the lamp with a heavy-duty adhesive. Add the weather-proofing enamel to the bowl as well. Finally, all that’s left to do is to add water to the bowl, and you have your repurposed lamp bird bath!
Cupped Hand Bird Bath
Your outdoor bird bath isn’t only a place for birds to bathe; it can also serve as decoration for your front or backyard. That’s why it’s essential to care not only about the functionality of your bird bath but also the way it looks.
This cupped hand bird bath will make your garden feel like the Garden of Eden. While its size makes it primarily ideal for hummingbirds, if put in the right place, it will attract various birds. Better yet, you can also use it as a bird feeder. Its small size also makes it easy to move around if needed.
This bird bath will serve as beautiful decor for your yard while attracting various birds to make it feel like paradise.
Repurposed Sink Bird Bath
If DIY projects are your thing, this DIY birdbath is for you. The next time you spot a thrown-away sink, consider turning it into a bird bath.
This DIY bird bath idea is a great way to repurpose a sink and turn it into a haven for the wild birds in your backyard. To execute this great idea, all you have to do is take the sink, cover the drainage hole, fill it with decorative rocks or pea gravel, and add water. This sink is easy to drain as well for cleaning purposes.
Flower Pot Bird Bath
A flower pot can also be an excellent base for a bird bath. Making a flower pot bird bath is easy. All you need is the pot itself – preferably a terra cotta pot – and the saucer.
Flip the pot upside down and place the terra cotta saucer on top. From there, all you have to do is fill the saucer with water, and you’re done!
This is one of the most inexpensive bird bath ideas, as you can easily find flower pots at the dollar store.
Fountain Bird Bath
Next on our list of the best bird bath ideas is a fountain bird bath.
Fountains provide the same benefits as a bird bath but offer much more. This fountain bird bath not only keeps birds hydrated and clean but also allows them to cool down in a fun way. It’s also powered by solar energy, so you don’t have to worry about adding to your electric bill.
This fountain also has six different nozzles to provide different spray shapes, and the spray height can be as high as 27 inches. All you need to do is add the pump to a serving dish or other bird bath basin, and your fountain is ready!
Check out this article for other small water features for your backyard.
Hanging Bird Bath
The last beautiful bird bath idea on our list is a hanging bird bath.
Do you have a large tree hanging from your yard? Naturally, it most likely already attracts various types of wild birds. Why not add your bird bath to your tree to ensure the birds are always comfortable?
A hanging bird bath is a great option to accommodate the birds in your yard that may already prefer hanging out by your tree. This hanging bird bath is great because it has two compartments: one for a bird feeder and one for a bird bath. This makes it a one-stop shop for all of your local birds’ needs and is sure to make your tree the most popular destination on the block.
Wrap-Up: Bring All of the Birds to Your Yard
To conclude, a bird bath is an excellent addition to your yard to take care of your neighborhood birds and attract additional birds. Birds have a unique way of making any space feel idyllic and peaceful, so if you can bring more of them to your outdoor space, you should!
