Top 5 best garden birdbaths

Good garden birdbaths can bring birds flocking from miles around!

Of all the wildlife that comes to visit our garden, birds have to be the friendliest and most vocal. With the right accessories to tempt them you can encourage a huge diversity of birds to drop by and say hello. And a great bird friendly accessory is the garden birdbath!

Most of the year birds will survive on the water held within the food they eat. If they need more they get it from other sources, such as dew. This may surprise you but for a small bird like a sparrow whose sip isn’t very big, dew is an excellent source of water. A great reason to have a grassy area in your garden. There are times however when birds will flock to your birdbath. When it’s very hot and when it’s very cold, good water sources are hard to come by. During the winter months fresh water becomes trapped in frost, ice and snow, making it unavailable to birds. With our summers becoming hotter, more ground water is evaporated in to the atmosphere, and there is more competition for water from other wildlife, leaving less of it available to the birds that need it. As you might imagine, this has more of an affect in urban areas that it does in the country and the birdbath has become a vital water source for urban birdlife.

Birdbaths also can be a striking design feature for your garden, whether its creating a focal point at the end of a path, or nestled among the plants in the garden border, the birdbath can make a real statement in your garden, as well as helping out our little feathered friends.

There are lots of different birdbaths to choose from. Be aware that not all garden birdbaths are created equal. Some are better than others and there are some basic requirements that you should be aware of before buying and setting up your birdbath.

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED.

• Birds bathe in shallow water. No more than 3 - 5cm so don’t buy one that is too deep.

• Some birdbaths are not frost proof and are prone to cracking in the winter. If you don’t want to bring your birdbath indoors for the winter then choose one that can be left out year round.

• Some birdbaths need to be pegged down as they are not heavy enough to withstand the wind. Unless you are placing it on grass where it can be pegged down, think about investing in a heavier stone birdbath.

• Don’t position your birdbath too close to places where predators may be lurking. Birds are vulnerable when they are bathing especially if there are cats about.

• During a light frost put a tennis ball in your birdbath. The motion of the ball in the wind keeps an area unfrozen. This only works in light frost, heavier frost you have to swap the water out each morning. DON’T USE SALT. Birds don’t want a salt bath - unless they are seagulls!!

• Tap water or rain water is fine to use in your birdbath.

Here are GardenWilds Top 5 Garden Birdbaths!

As the prices of things change we have used a £ sign system to indicate relative cost. £ means its is low budget and £££ means it higher end. This is relative, so click through to see what prices you can get.

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No. 5 | RSPB Birdbath

Pros: Easy to clean | 7 cm for bird safety | Simple to assembly | RSPB

Cons: Even though it looks like metal, it’s actually plastic | Customers have complained it about it cracking.

Price: £

Key features:

• Cheap

• Easy to move

• Easy to set up

• Supplied with ground pegs

We’ve included this for the people who want a ”no thrills”, “gets the job done” birdbath. It’s not the most attractive birdbath and it’s made of plastic, which does make it unstable in the wind. It comes with ground peg but that does mean you can only situate it on grass. However it’s the cheapest of the 5 that we recommend and It’s sold by the RSPB and they know what they’re doing when it comes to birds. Buy here.

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No. 4 Echoes ceramic bird bath

Pros: Gorgeous ripple design | Graduated depth makes it safe for birds | High - fired

Cons: Not frost proof | Little birds slip on the ceramic | Large stand sold separately

Specs: Height 5cm x Width 34cm (with out the stand)

Price: ££ (with stand), £ (without)

Features:

• Beautiful glaze

• Ceramic

• William Blake's poem 'Auguries of Innocence' inscribed around the edge.

It’s obvious why this is number 4 on our list. It’s a beautiful birdbath! One of our customers has one of these birdbaths and it looks amazing in their garden… I have seen birds slipping into it and the one that she has hasn’t got a stand, but I quite like it without. The advice on the RSPB website is that even though it is frost resistant, it’s not frost proof… You going to have to bring it in what it starts getting cold. However, it is still a good birdbath for the price! Buy here.

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No. 3 Granite birdbath

Pro: Elegant contemporary design | Durable | Handmade

Con: Deep bowl | Must be empty over the winter | Need cleaning regularly

Price: £££

Specs: Height 70cm x Width 44cm x Depth 44cm

Features:

• Handmade finish

• Can be left outside

• White, smooth alabaster finish

This birdbath has made it number 3 in our list because of its simple elegant design, that would look perfect in nearly every garden. It could be a stand alone feature on your lawn or in amongst a flower bed. It’s weather resistant but you’ll will have to empty it during the winter months to prevent cracking. It’s also got a deep bowl so you’ll have to keep it topped up if you want small birds to drink. All being said, we think this birdbath is worth the money. Buy here.

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No. 2 Set of 3 Copper Chalice Garden Sculptures

Pros: Frost proof | Handmade | Copper

Cons: Copper weather | Deep

Price: ££

Specs: Small Chalice 15 cm diameter, 1 meter stem | Medium Chalice 20cm diameter, 1 meter stem | Large Chalice 25cm diameter, 1 meter stem

Features:

• Copper

• Handmade

• Sculptural

This is on of our favourites because it’s more of a sculpture than a birdbath. They’d look amazing in the summer month poking out of your perennial flower bed. They will look good in a small garden. Buy here.

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No. 1 Foras Flight Bowl Rainbow Birdbath

Pros: Can be filled with bird food to double up | Natural occurring rainbow patterns | Weather resistant

Cons: No stand

Price: £££

Specs: Diameter 42cm x Depth 4cm, Weight 15kg

Features:

• Made with natural materials so completely unique

• Polished to emphasise the natural grain

• Versatile and stylish

• Sculptural

• Also available with slate plinth

This is a beautiful little birdbath for any size garden but is perfect for a small/patio garden. The 4cm depth means that that small birds will be able to use it. The only issue I can see with this birdbath is that with out a stand it’s easier for cat to sneak up on unsuspecting birds. Your placement will be key. It cost bit more a bit more but we recommend buying it with the slate plinth for this reason, plus it looks AMAZING!!! Buy here.

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