A Bullock’s Oriole gets in the spray of an attachment added to a western birdbath. The new Aquanura IntelliSolar Mini-Fountain Insert for birdbaths is 1 of 3 solar-powered mini-fountains featured in this article that are available from Duncraft. The solar powered Floating Leaf Solar Bubbler for birdbaths is a longtime favorite among birders. The Ceramic Bird Solar Mini-Fountain is a compact ceramic mini-fountain that has a small bird motif on the top (also available from Duncraft).

Water attracts a greater variety of birds than all the bird foods combined – and it’s essentially Free for you to provide fresh water every day. During summer, most birds are feeding on the abundance of insects, including larvae such as caterpillars, and spiders. Therefore, with many birds getting their food from sources beyond your feeders, water becomes an even more important magnet to attract birds to your yard.

With new birds on the move after the nesting season, it’s a great time to attract recent fledglings and birds on the move from their nesting territories. Also, some birds will begin migrating south soon, but they may spend extra time during an extended stopover period where they find a dependable water source – and that can be your birdbath or water feature. Once located, water can keep birds in the area similar to providing a food source at your feeding station.

But how do birds find a water source? The sound of moving water is the most likely way for birds to find water – the sound of a stream of water flowing, or the trickle of a spring is how birds find a naturally occurring water source, and creating the sound of moving water is the best way to make it easier for them to find your yard and birdbath. One other byproduct of moving water is that it is not attractive to mosquitos like stationary water is, and that’s a good reason to keep water moving in itself.

Of course, birds find water by sight too, and the reflections created by moving water helps birds to find a water source too. Therefore, it should be a natural for us to include moving water as part of our feeding station or flower garden. And you can make any birdbath or water basin sing with the movement of water easily and relatively inexpensively. You don’t even need an electric connection to keep a motor running if you opt for a small solar-powered mini-fountain, for example.

Realistically, the sound of moving water is also attractive for people. We all enjoy the tranquil sound of moving water and the mood it creates, enhancing our landscaping and our little piece of nature we create in our yard. So let’s move on to the equipment – what is available to create lively moving water? Your local birding store may have some options, but here are some interesting water feature options to consider: A small fountain that you can position inside your birdbath, a mini-waterfall, dripper, mister – or all of these options.

There are a variety of products available online, and we found that a well-known birding products company, Duncraft, has a lot of options including mini-fountains and mini-waterfalls, misters, drippers, and bubblers. While doing a little shopping of our own, we zeroed in on 3 mini-fountains that we would like to bring to your attention.

Solar Powered Water

Our pick of the season is the new Aquanura IntelliSolar Mini-Fountain Insert for birdbaths, which is powered by patented IntelliSolar technology. This mini-fountain is said to ensure a consistent water flow, even when sunlight conditions change to overcast and cloudy. When the built-in solar panel is positioned in full sunlight, it runs the fountain, and it also charges a backup battery to keep the fountain running during cloudy weather. This mini-fountain insert is easy to use – just place it in your birdbath! The mini-fountain insert measures 9-inches diameter and it is 2 inches tall. It requires direct sun to charge, and you should keep your birdbath filled with 2 inches of water. This impressive new product is available from Duncraft at Aquanura 9" IntelliSOLAR Insert for Bird Baths – Duncraft

Another Duncraft mini-fountain is the solar powered Floating Leaf Solar Bubbler for birdbaths or water basins, and the base is shaped like a maple leaf. This low profile water fountain insert is about 1¾ inches tall and 8 inches wide, and requires direct sunlight to operate (there is no backup battery). It features 4 different fountain heads for you to choose from – a mini-bubbler, fountain, stream, or jet – you choose or change the fountain heads as you wish; see Floating Leaf Solar Bubbler – Duncraft

A small self-contained solar-powered water feature that is also offered by Duncraft, the Ceramic Bird Solar Mini-Fountain, which is a compact ceramic water fountain that has a small bird motif on the top. Water flows through the bird’s beak into the bowl, recycling the water from the bowl and creating the sound of moving water. The fountain is powered by a separate solar panel that you can positioned as far as away as 10 feet from the fountain, where sunlight may be more direct. The solar panel and mini-fountain are connected by a 10 foot cable, and this self-contained mini-fountain measures 14x13x7 inches; see Ceramic Bird Solar Fountain – Duncraft

There are many other interesting water features available from Duncraft, and you can always shop around on your own – we just found that Duncraft was the best place to start looking for a solar-powered insert or self-contained birdbath, and you can see many other options at Solar Powered Bird Baths – Duncraft and Water Misters & Drippers – Duncraft

Create more lively action with the sight and sound of moving water to make your birdbath, water basin, or water feature even more attractive to birds, and share your backyard birding experiences and photographs with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com