A bird bath is one of the easiest ways to attract birds to your garden who will use the water for bathing, drinking, preening, and cooling off.
As people are becoming more aware of looking after the environment as well as wanting to save on energy bills so the popularity of solar powered bird baths is growing.
There are two main types of solar powered bird baths: fountain bird baths and heated bird baths.
A solar powered fountain bird bath is like a regular bird bath, but it is fitted with a pump and a solar panel. The solar power collects energy from the sun and uses this to power the pump which circulates the water. Most solar panels will stop working once the sun goes in, but some include lithium batteries which collect energy, so the fountain continues to run into the evening and night, or during cloudy periods.
A heated solar bird bath keeps the water warm in the bowl and can prevent it from freezing over, but be aware that a solar fountain bird bath will not necessarily heat the water. For this you need a separate solar-powered water heater which sits in the basin of the bath.
Some solar bird baths with battery packs also include lights that turn on when the sun goes down so your bird bath can double up as an attractive feature that lights your garden at night.
Birds are attracted to the sound of splashing and dripping water so providing a bird bath with a fountain will encourage them to return to your garden again and again
Moving water is also less likely to go stagnant and attract algae and bacteria, which can be harmful to birds, so the water in a fountain bird bath doesn’t need to be changed as often. Insects also are unlikely to lay eggs and breed in moving water.
Solar fountain bird baths either come with a built-in panel integrated into the basin of the bath, or with a stand-alone panel that is attached to the bath with wiring.
The main benefit of the latter is that you can place your bird bath anywhere you want it as long as the panel is in direct sunlight for enough hours in the day.
An integrated panel means you will need to position the entire bird bath in the sun which may not be as convenient. It also means that the water in the bath will evaporate more quickly particularly on very hot days.
Either way, a solar powered bird bath is much more flexible than a mains-powered bird bath. Apart from the cost, you don’t need to worry about placing the bath near an electricity supply, and you won’t have any cables running through your garden which could be dangerous, especially if you have children or pets.
Using a solar powered bath means you won’t need to remember to switch the fountain off at night when it is not needed as the sun will do that for you!
A heated solar bird bath should keep the water warm enough to prevent it from freezing and means it is more comfortable for birds to bathe in. However, in the UK it’s unlikely that there will be enough hours of sun in the day during the winter when it’s needed the most and manual solutions such as floating a small ball on the surface of the water to prevent freezing may be a better option.
Although it’s convenient to buy an all-in-one solar powered bird bath you can make your own buy buying a separate pump and solar panel and fitting it to an existing bath.
Look for a solar panel with an efficiency of over 20% but make sure it is lightweight enough to move about your garden. You’ll also need to know how many kWh the pump requires so you don’t waste your money on a high-powered panel if a less powerful panel will get the job done.
Algae can still grow in a solar powered bird bath, and over time it will get dirty and fill with debris. You should clean a solar bird bath in the same way as any other bird bath, but pay particular attention to the pump or heater where dirt may get trapped.
The solar panels will need to be wiped clean with a soft, damp cloth to maximise their efficiency, and eventually they may need replacing.
