There are plenty of plunging places in my garden, puddles, trays and pots, shallow pond edges and streams. However I cannot recall seeing any birds bathing apart from the ducks and the swallows, who love to take a dip in the big pond for a drink and a quick splash on a summer day.
The rest all look very smart, but I don't know where they go!
I have never seen a bird taking a bath in any of my many "pools", but regularly see them splashing around in a muddy puddle in the lane. I have even tried making one of my splash pools more like a puddle by putting gravel in the bottom, to no avail. The dog and cat both prefer to drink from manky pots of rainwater than their clean indoor drinking bowls. I have always assumed that was because rain water has no chemical additives.
I have a very large tray for watering seed trays and the like. It just sits with a mix of tap water, rain water, spilt compost etc etc. The birds come and have a drink and a bath and most of them have a secret poo in the bath.
After a while, if there's no rain, the water starts to evaporate leaving a thin soup which becomes ever thicker. It's at around that stage that next doors cats seem to think it is optimal flavour for drinking🤢
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Never seen birds bathing in our pond either but some of the small brown jobs and tits do drink from a bowl of tap water I leave out near their food. No chlorine so ok for them and our cats, dogs and hens.
However, it was really hot and dry this year and I have a butler's sink going spare so I've ordered two small solar fountains and one water reservoir and they'll become bathing and drinking fountains in the potager and behind the house for assorted birds and critters to enjoy at their leisure.
I've never seen where the swallows and house martins collect the mud for their nests either. They're far too canny.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
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I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The dog and cat both prefer to drink from manky pots of rainwater than their clean indoor drinking bowls. I have always assumed that was because rain water has no chemical additives.
After a while, if there's no rain, the water starts to evaporate leaving a thin soup which becomes ever thicker. It's at around that stage that next doors cats seem to think it is optimal flavour for drinking🤢
However, it was really hot and dry this year and I have a butler's sink going spare so I've ordered two small solar fountains and one water reservoir and they'll become bathing and drinking fountains in the potager and behind the house for assorted birds and critters to enjoy at their leisure.
I've never seen where the swallows and house martins collect the mud for their nests either. They're far too canny.