My neighbor told me to put out a shallow dish of water instead of a birdbath. She was right.

Tbh I thought she was crazy. I had this fancy ceramic birdbath I spent like $40 on at a garden center. But she said the birds around here prefer something shallower, like 1-2 inches max. So I grabbed an old pie tin, filled it with rocks and a little water, and set it on the ground. First day I got a pair of robins splashing around. The birdbath barely gets any action now. Has anyone else tried the pie tin trick with good results?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantw328d ago

Yeah no kidding! My wife thought I lost my mind when I put out an old ashtray with a couple inches of water. But I swear within an hour I had sparrows lined up waiting their turn. Thing is I also noticed the birds started ignoring my fancy hanging bird feeder after I put out some cracked corn on a flat rock. Maybe birds just like simple stuff we think is trash.

stellanelson8d ago

Wait, a whole $40 birdbath just collecting dust now? I can't believe something as simple as a pie tin is outclassing it. That's wild to me because I always thought birds wanted something fancy, like a little spa for them. I've got a cheap plastic dish I use for my dog's water outside, and now I'm wondering if the birds have been secretly using that too. The shallow water thing makes total sense when you think about it though, little birds probably can't handle anything deep. Guess I'm gonna have to try this pie tin trick and see if I get the same result.

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fiona9858d ago

But doesn't your dog splash around in that dish? I'd be worried about bacteria or something since birds are pretty particular about clean water, you know?