SCOTT SHALAWAY Backyard water can be a magnet for birds

When I was a graduate student more than 25 years ago, I lacked the time and money required to manage my small Michigan backyard. As I traveled back and forth to my study site each day, though, I noticed that quite a few homes had bird feeders and baths.
One sultry summer morning, after a thunderstorm had relieved a month-long drought, I noticed many birds gathered in a yard at one of the houses near my study site. I stopped and watched. Over the course of 30 minutes, robins, cardinals, doves, song sparrows, a catbird, a house wren and a downy woodpecker visited that yard. The lure was an old concrete bird bath that had filled with water during the early morning downpour.
Method to routine
As the birds came and went, I noticed a definite method to their routine. First they drank. Then they bathed. A few seemed to linger and soak.
I watched one cardinal intently. It bent its legs, then dipped down and submerged its body. As it emerged, it flapped its wings to help saturate its feathers. Then it hopped onto the edge of the bowl, fluffed its feathers, and preened.
Reaching back to the base of the tail, it massaged a small gland with its bill. The gland released a dab of oil, which the cardinal then smeared over its feathers. The oil cleans, lubricates, and waterproofs the feathers so they will last until the next time the bird molts.
Keeping feathers clean and healthy is routine maintenance -- without it, birds couldn't survive. Feathers protect the skin, minimize body weight, insulate and streamline the body, enable birds to fly, and provide the colors that help birds recognize each other. A dependable supply of fresh water helps birds keep their feathers fit.
Meets daily needs
Water also helps birds meet some of their daily physiological needs. On hot days birds sometimes soak in a bowl of fresh water just to cool off. Clean drinking water also enables birds to replace the water they lose by evaporation.
The simplest way to provide water is to put up a bird bath. It could be anything from an inverted garbage can lid on a tripod of rocks to a polypropylene saucer on a metal stand or even a small pond complete with pump and waterfall. You are limited only by your imagination and budget. For innovative ideas on how to provide water for backyard birds, visit www.avianaquatics.com
Regardless of how sophisticated you may choose to get, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Keep the water no more than two inches deep. This is not a problem with most saucer-style baths, but if you install a small pool or pond, pile a stack of rocks to make one end shallow enough for small birds to bathe.
Place the bath in open shade. It should be shaded between noon and 4 p.m. so the water doesn't get too hot. Remember, an important function of water is to provide a place to cool off when temperatures soar. Overhead cover also provides safe haven when a cat or bird-eating hawk enters the area.
Keep a bath at least 15 feet from any feeders. Seed hulls and droppings soil water rapidly.
Change the water and rinse the bowl daily. A plastic scouring pad makes quick work of most grime. Algae, droppings, and wind blown debris can turn a bird bath into a germ-infested "soup" in just a few days.
Add a mister or a dripper. Birds find the sound of moving water irresistible. Dripper valves can regulate the flow of water from a steady stream to just a few drops per minute. Misters spray a fine mist of water above the bath, or they can be placed in a tree or shrub to simulate a refreshing summer rain. Warblers, vireos, hummingbirds, orioles, and tanagers are just some of the neotropical migrants that enjoy bathing in a humid tropic-like mist.
If there's a backyard bird magnet, it's a reliable supply of cool, fresh water.
sshalaway@aol.com