[Birdtalk] Robin Baths

[Kristin Purdy]

Sure, everybody knows about the importance of maintaining a water source along with bird food sources for your backyard birds. But forget, for a moment, what's good for the birds and think about what's good for you: entertainment.

The pairs of American Robins that have claimed my yard for the season are in love with my water source. They provide me with entertainment 15 feet outside my kitchen window that's better than reality TV; it's just reality. They fly to a nearby aspen, check out the bathing scene, and then fly directly to the bird bathtub regardless of the House Finches or American and Lesser Goldfinches already present. The smaller birds scatter, of course, but not far. 

The robins usually drink first from the rim and then hop in for a splash. They begin by dipping their upper breasts down into the water and flapping to distribute the water under and over their wings. In moments of complete abandonment, they can empty the tub. Once the splashing is over, the birds fly to a nearby branch and begin the preening. Males and females bathe within a short time of each other. The males seem to come in first and the females within 10 minutes or so. This routine repeats itself several times a day and I think that the same birds might even be bathing morning and evening. I like having clean birds in my yard. 

Many lovely bird baths not only provide water, drippers, misters and wigglers, but look great in the garden. And then there's my method--the el-cheapo use-castoffs-from-the-garage and hope the neighbors don't notice. My water station is a large plastic plant saucer that rests on a discarded shelf, bungee-corded to the corner of my deck rail. It works great and the birds don't complain about how ugly their bathtub is. They just drink, drink, drink, and then splash, splash, splash. The biggest burden to me is to keep the darn thing full; not so easy once the morning and afternoon splashing commences. But it's worth it, of course, to be entertained by bird hygiene.

I can't imagine where else the birds would find water within a few streets of mine unless somebody else maintains water for the birds or has a water feature as part of their landscaping. That might be the reason my ugly bird spa is popular. 

Kris

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