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Mayacamas Campout: May1-2

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Early Birdathon Report

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Birding Bodega Bay: Spring and Summer

Backyard Birding: Birdbaths

Welcome New Members

SCCC Recognizes Nature Educators

Through the Garden Gate

Backyard Birding: Birdbaths

by Judy Brinkerhoff

May is a good time to put out a birdbath, or several if you have a large yard. The weather is warming up and water is vital for birds, both for bathing and drinking.

There are many ways to accomplish making a spa for the birds. One is to purchase the standard concrete basin and pedestal arrangement from a nursery or nature supply business. Another is this inexpensive, simple alternative that's also easy to move and to keep clean.

From a nursery supply store, I bought a round clay dish 12" across and approximately 3" deep. I think it would ordinarily be used as a saucer under a huge pot.

At a hardware store, I got a length of nylon cord, which won't deteriorate when it gets wet, and two metal rings about 1 1/2" in diameter. I cut four lengths of cord about two yards long, folded them double, and looped them over the top ring. (With heavier cord, four single lengths would do.) I then tied the loose ends through the other ring. I attached the top ring to a tree limb, and settled the saucer securely crosswise between the cords.

This makes a great hanging birdbath, at a cost of less than $15.

I suspended one from a limb under a large oak, where there is also a hanging feeder. It has become a little sanctuary, with shrubs nearby where the feeders and bathers can escape Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks as they swoop through the trees after their songbird prey.

Where there are no suitable tree limbs, you can hang the birdbath from a stick-in-the-ground metal affair with a u-shape at the top, designed for pots or a bird feeder. The birds seem to prefer that the bath be located near some shrubbery. I put one of these in my cottage garden, where I can watch the birds bathing and feeding, from my office window.