Providing winter water is a breeze with this new Duncraft Pedestal Heated Bird Bath that comes in 3 different colors – black, green, or white. Another Duncraft option is the Clamp Mounted Heated Bird Bath.

We all appreciate that you can attract a greater variety of birds to your yard by providing fresh water. Across the Sunbelt, providing winter water during the cold weather months is mostly business as usual – keep the water fresh and keep your bird bath or other water basins filled regularly with less than 2 inches of water. But if you live north of the freezing line, which includes most states and all of the Canadian provinces, winter water requires another option – a heater – or a bird bath with a built-in thermostatically controlled heater. But that’s easy enough, it’s just another piece of backyard birding equipment – one that can serve you throughout the year.

Regardless of what method you choose to provide fresh water through the fall and winter, your water feature will surely be the hit of the neighborhood for birds during cold-weather months. Enjoy the action, enjoy the birds, and appreciate that you may be providing the only ice-free water in the area that birds can rely on during stressful winter weather.

Winter water is an important element for all birds. Choosing a bird bath with a built-in thermostatically controlled heater is probably your best bet, but they also function as 4-season water features if you simply unplug the heating element when temperatures warm.

If you already have a bird bath or another water feature that you prefer to use, a handy electric heater that operates with a thermostat will serve your purposes as long as you have a sturdy water container. That is, a bird bath that is made of ceramics, clay, plaster, or cement for example. Then, you just place the heater in the water vessel and plug it in, although you also want to make sure you keep water in the basin.

The importance of keeping the water level at no more than 2 inches deep is to keep it shallow enough for smaller birds like finches, cardinals, robins, and others to bathe in. Bathing is an important aspect of providing water for birds any time of the year. Bathing birds also “use” or displace a bit of water, which means you will want to check the water level in your bird bath periodically, adding fresh water when needed.

Another thing to keep in mind is that solar water heaters on the market really aren’t meant for northern winter conditions, but if you live on the edge of the Sunbelt, they will likely fill an important role by keeping the water ice-free – as long as you get plenty of sun during colder days.

There are 2 primary companies that provide a variety of heated bird baths and water heater options:

BestNest offers a collection of heated bird baths, along with a number of external heaters, which you can use with an existing bird bath you may prefer to continue to utilize through the winter months. Some of these heated bird baths offer longer electric cords and safety connectors to protect cord connections from water, precipitation, and other outdoor moisture concerns. To view the entire collection of products, see Heated Bird Baths at BestNest.com!

You can also buy Safety Connectors separately for any outdoor electric application; see the description in the Products article in this issue, and at BestNest.com

Duncraft also provides a variety of electrically heated bird baths, along with external heaters and de-icers. Among the models they offer you can choose from pedestal, deck-mounted, and ground-level bird baths at Heated Baths & Heaters (duncraft.com)

You will surely enjoy the added activity at your bird bath or water feature through the winter season, which will also help you appreciate how important access to winter water is for birds.

Share your backyard birding experiences and photos with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com