Frozen bird baths

Category: Birds, squirrels and other misadventures | Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:53 pm

My hamster loves the birdseed that is a special blend of hull-less sunflower seeds and other bird gourmet goodies. And my birds love the homemade suet I make with hamburger grease and hamster chow. Ironic to be sure.

I spent about 30 minutes trying to de-ice my 3 birdbaths. Actually is more like 2 real concrete birdbaths and one small tupperware container I keep on the deck rails for the small birds like Titmice and Chickadees to drink from. They love it. In the hotter months I see the Titmice lined up waiting their turn to bathe in the container. I had decided that Chickadees never bathed. At best I have seen them duck their little heads down and run water over their bodies but I had never seen a full emersion of water bathing but just ONE TIME. It had to be a super super hot day last August that made this poor little Carolina Chick dip into the waters.

For the most part the bigger larger birds like the Bluejays, robins, Cardinals will even pop by for a long sip. But nothing be bathing here in this ice! Nothing like frozen bird poop. I need to get a rubber mallet to break up the ice. Where do birds get their water in a frozen world? I have heard claims that those heated eternal bubbling birdbaths are very popular with the birds, but it sounds like it would require an engineering degree to rig one up and at great expense to install one.

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eileen wrote on Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:08 am:

I saw so many of our birds this morning trying to either bathe or drink from the pond. I feel so sorry for them when it's iced over. The bird bath was, obviously, frozen too but by mid morning the temperatures had risen and all my birds were happy again.

birdnuts wrote on Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:56 am:

It never got above 27 degrees here. This is very unusual for this part of Tennessee for it to remain iced all day.

zuzu's petals wrote on Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:21 am:

Awww, little birdie ice skating rinks.

I imagine that ours will be frozen tomorrow morning, as well.

Phooey :-(

glendann wrote on Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:07 am:

Poor little birds .I do wonder what they do for water when all is froze solid.

bethie wrote on Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:11 pm:

We use an immersian heater that comes on when it gets past a certain temperture. It works very well. One ice cold day a starling jumped right in an took a bath. He seemed to be all right.