Bird Baths and Other Bird Bathing Habits

Bird baths are like a magnet to wild birds. They just cannot resist bathing. Add the sound of water to your bath and it will act like an advertisement in the neighbourhood newspaper. The sounds of happy bathers will attract even more curious birds. A place to bathe will draw wild birds to your backyard faster than a feeder.

A Mockingbird is a flycatcher and can be seen up close at bird baths.

So if you are just starting out as a new backyard bird watcher, put out a bath and attract wild birds faster.

A place for birds to bathe will also be a delight to those who have only been using bird feeders and bird houses to attract birds to their yards. Many species of wild birds like Warblers, Tanagers and Flycatchers will rarely be seen in a garden with only bird feeders. But all birds need and love water. So having a water bath will increase the variety and numbers of birds attracted to your bird garden and make it a garden of delight.

Just a note as well, about “bird bath feeders”. Bird baths will serve as good platform feeder. This type of feeder offers a favourite eating style for some birds because it is open and allows the birds to see in all directions.

Wild birds need a good, safe source of water all year. This is not a surprise when one thinks about it, because all living things need food, shelter, safety and water to survive.

But bird baths providing water are not the only type of bath needed and used by wild birds. There are a couple of other types of “bathing” needs that wild birds have, which we will discuss here.

A “dust” bath is an unusual type of “bath”. This sounds like a paradoxical statement. Dust is not a term we normally associate with cleansing. It is believed that wild birds participate in dust baths to help them get rid of parasites.

A wild bird dust bath is really dry soil that we term “dust”. They perform this bathing ritual by “flinging”, loose dry dirt over themselves. When you observe wild birds “dusting” themselves in this fashion, their actions are not unlike watching them in a bird bath. Testing the “dust” (as if it were water), a little “splashing”, and then full fluttering and carrying on!

You can provide a dust bath, if the birds have not chosen their own location. Simply choose a bare patch of ground, preferably an area that drains well after a rain. Rake the area slightly to loosen the top layer of soil. The dusting area should be close enough to cover like a bush, so the birds will have a safe place to flee in case a predator arrives on the scene.

It may not be possible though to attract them to a specific location for dust bathing. But if you keep a vigilant watch and notice this practice somewhere in your yard, then providing a little help with raking and cover for protection may encourage this interesting activity.

It may help us to understand this seemingly peculiar wild bird habit by comparing it to a human practice. All we have to do to increase our understanding is to add water to the “dust” and talk about a “mud” bath. Then some light is shed on the matter. There is no way to discover the real benefits of dust baths to birds. But perhaps, like people who mud bathe to derive a relaxation and cosmetic benefit, our feathered friends too may experience similar gain.

COOL!

Yes, really! Not for tanning, but for other reasons.

Wild birds can be observed sun bathing at any time of the year. They will find a protected spot, out of the wind and safe from predators. It is often observed that wild birds while sun bathing, appear to be oblivious to what is going on around them. It could be conjectured that they are so enjoying this practice that they loose awareness of their surroundings.

Wild birds will bask in the sun on cool mornings to warm themselves up. Hummingbirds can be observed early in the morning perched on a feeder that is located in the morning sun warming themselves.

Birds will also sit exposed to the sun after a bath to dry off and preen their feathers.

But there are other times when they will perch and spread their wings and tail feathers for what appears to be for the sole purpose of “sun” bathing. They sometimes position themselves in awkward positions to expose different parts of their body to the rays of the sun. They simply just appear to be enjoying the warmth, healing and rejuvenating effects of the suns beams. It is not hard to understand how good that feels!

Just the thought of it brings chills to the spine, but not to our feathered friends. The reasons for this behaviour are not really known. It could be to aid in the constant battle against parasites and to furnish a means to scratch an “itch” that may be caused by molting.

It can be observed in bird behaviour in two different ways:

1. A bird will hold a crushed ant in its beak and rub it over its feathers. They perhaps gain some aid from the ant’s body juices to combat parasites or for some other unknown reason.

2. Another “anting” habit is standing over an ant hill and allowing the insects to crawl over their bodies. Again, the benefit may be to allow the ants to rid the bird’s body of parasites or for the benefits of scratching an “itch”!

One has to be in awe, no matter how distasteful it may seem, at some of the symbiotic relationships that exist in nature!

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