With a Heated Bird Bath, We're Getting Even More Birds

Allied Precision 14-Inch Heated Bird Bath #145

One of the quickest and easiest ways to get a little “nature fix” in the middle of our Midwestern winter has been to install a cluster of bird feeders in our back yard. We packed up the hummingbird feeders for next summer, and put up a couple of arrays of seed and suet feeders. The neighborhood finches, titmouses (titmice?), doves, juncos, woodpeckers, flickers and cardinals have been welcome visitors – the starlings less so – and we’ve also been gratified to see that a handful of bluebirds has begun visiting. Our home in central Indiana is, according to the bird books, near the northern limit of the bluebirds’ winter range, so we were a bit surprised to see them.

Actually, the bluebirds only started showing up recently. It might be because the weather’s finally tuned cold and we got some snow cover, but it might also be because they like to be able to get a drink: we installed a heated bird bath from Allied Precision on our deck, and they seem to be the species that uses it most often.

Description

The bath consists of a green plastic bowl, in the classic birdbath shape, with a mount on the bottom that fits onto a deck rail – either 4- or 6-inch lumber. There’s a heater hidden in the bottom of the bowl with a short (about two feet) grounded cord. The mount is hinged so that you can tilt the bowl to dump out dirty water. The bowl holds about two quarts (a half gallon) of water, and is perhaps 20” in diameter.

According to the manufacturer, the heater draws 70 watts of power. Running 24/7, that’s 1.7 KwH per day; or in the neighborhood of $5-10 dollars a month for power. On cold days, you can see “steam” rising off the water; though in actuality it doesn’t feel hot at all. The water hasn’t frozen over this year, though our coldest night has been just below zero (Fahrenheit). The shape allows birds to perch on the edge to get a drink or have a little “water-cooler” discussion; it also collects a little snow. At the center of the bowl, the water is about 1½ to 2 inches deep; the heater in the base makes the whole works about four inches tall. 

Using the Bird Bath Ours shipped with the bowl, the base, and a little plastic plug protector intended to keep water out of the electrical connection. Installing the deck mount is easy; though the instructions are a bit cryptic. There’s a clamp-style setup that lets you mount the bowl on a (flat) railing or on a 4 x 4 post. It probably won’t mount on the narrow dimension of a 2 x 4. A friction catch holds the bowl in position until you need to clean it; the mount is hinged to let you tilt the bowl away from the deck – assuming you installed it correctly – to dump the water. Between our birds and evaporation, we need to add about a quart of water a day.  We’ve really enjoyed watching the birds, and we suspect that they’re really happy to have a source of clean water (except then the starlings soil the contents). It’s well worth the cost to buy and operate, especially compared to the cost of the seed the starlings (ptui) kick out onto the ground for the squirrels!

Summary

Plus: gives birds water in the depths of winter, tilt feature to clean
Minus: deck mount is a little clunky
What they’re saying: A heated birdbath might be what you need to attract (even) more birds

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