A watery winter for birds

Spring and summer, usually the warmest months, are when the majority of us faithfully supply our garden birds with fresh water for drinking and bathing. By this time of year, however, some of us have put away birdbaths and other water features, presuming that birds won’t need them until the spring.

However, we’re here to spread the word, that no, please don’t put that very important water source away!

Birds and other wildlife, need water in the winter just as importantly as in the summer. If you don’t have snow or ice in your area, then there is literally no water, which can lead to big trouble for birds.

With a hard frozen ground and iced up ponds, garden birds need a supply of clean, fresh water daily. Even if we do have snow, it costs birds precious time, calories and body heat trying to melt frozen water.

Gardens that provide, fresh, clean water do tend to attract more avian visitors too so there’s even more reason to put a dish of water out to help them along. In autumn and winter, water is as big an attraction in a garden, as a bird feeder.

A good tip is to place a bath in a sunny area to make it more visible to birds and to help keep the water as a liquid.

Birds are very unlikely to submerge themselves in very cold weather, so you could help by adding several stones to the bath, which will help them stay dry and to drink.

A simple option is to buy several heavy-duty plant saucers that will not crack in frost and ice. Simply store them inside overnight and replace the frozen one each morning with a fresh one.

Flying around searching for a water source takes time and energy, so help your garden birds along by supplying them with the clean, fresh water they need to survive the coldest of months and make it through to spring and beyond.

But, and we want to shout it from the rooftops, please don’t stop supplying water to garden birds at any time of the year.

Written by Angela