If I said there was a queue of birds lined up with their towels and bars of soap and face flannels, no one would believe me. No, I thought not. Here's hoping. I wonder if they would like a modesty shower curtain? No, don't even go there Joyce! I will be offering them cushioned toilet paper next.
I think if birds feel safe, they will drink and bathe in all kinds of different shaped/ positioned receptacles, be it a shallow plastic saucer on the ground, a hanging ceramic dish, a pond or bucket etc. Rain water seems best. I discovered my blackbirds showering in my hospepipe fine mist, as late as last autumn - it was nice to watch them enjoying the shower which I prolonged especially for them.
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
We have have a bird bath like @Plantminded’s and get plenty of birds, big and small, having a drink and a bathe too. They are such fun to watch as they splash about, wings flapping.
I have two bird baths, one a fairly standard looking one on a pedestal, the other is a paint tray - like you use for a roller - on the ground (bought specially for the purpose and never used for paint). The paint tray is great because of the slope, so small birds and even insects can use it in safety. The bigger birdbath is used by pigeons and magpies, but all the other birds prefer the paint tray. I've even seen a chiffchaff in there. Here's a baby robin - taken through the window so as not to scare it:
I can't claim credit for the idea, someone posted it on Twitter and I immediately thought it was genius. Those trays are very cheap at the DIY stores too.
I will try that as I have a paint tray, which has never been used, as another option. The birds have started coming in for their breakfast, it will be interesting to see if any investigate their new bathing facilities. This thread has triggered memories of when I first began teaching in London. I lived with relatives in the battered remains of the East End of London. A small terraced house with no bathroom, only an outside privy. I used to go to the local bath house for a weekly bath in a magnificent red brick Victorian edifice where huge baths were half filled with lovely hot water, in small cell-like cubicles, and where invisible bodies in other cubicles were bathing, splashing and singing at the top of their voices. Calling and chatting to each other in the wonderfully warm, steamy fug. The attendants were lovely as they were supposed to pull the plug from outside after you had half an hour, but they never did. Sometimes you even had your water topped up with more hot water! Unless that was when I looked particularly dirty or impoverished! There was a lovely camaraderie in the place despite its utilitarian surroundings. No exotic tiles there. I seem to remember it cost 1 shilling and 6 pence, 7 1/2 p I think in today's money, plus the bus fare to get there and back.
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Dirty puddles on a road is always a favourite.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The birds have started coming in for their breakfast, it will be interesting to see if any investigate their new bathing facilities.
This thread has triggered memories of when I first began teaching in London. I lived with relatives in the battered remains of the East End of London. A small terraced house with no bathroom, only an outside privy. I used to go to the local bath house for a weekly bath in a magnificent red brick Victorian edifice where huge baths were half filled with lovely hot water, in small cell-like cubicles, and where invisible bodies in other cubicles were bathing, splashing and singing at the top of their voices. Calling and chatting to each other in the wonderfully warm, steamy fug. The attendants were lovely as they were supposed to pull the plug from outside after you had half an hour, but they never did. Sometimes you even had your water topped up with more hot water! Unless that was when I looked particularly dirty or impoverished! There was a lovely camaraderie in the place despite its utilitarian surroundings. No exotic tiles there. I seem to remember it cost 1 shilling and 6 pence, 7 1/2 p I think in today's money, plus the bus fare to get there and back.