Instructions for a Four-Season Birdbath

Install a standing birdbath in a relatively level area of your yard. Locate the bath within 15 feet of a tree or bush that birds can fly to for safety and near a water hose or outdoor water source to make cleaning easier. Dig an inch or two of the top soil away to install the birdbath. Level the area by removing soil from the higher areas and checking the site frequently with a level.

Fill the birdbath with no more than three inches of water at the deepest point. Small birds can drown in water as shallow as three inches, so a birdbath bowl with slanted edges will help birds easily walk out of the water to safety. Baths made of rough materials like concrete also allow the birds to get traction to walk out of the water.

Rinse and refill the birdbath every day in all four seasons. Water quickly becomes dirty with bird droppings and may eventually harbor bacteria when not cleaned regularly. A garden hose will make quick work of rinsing and refilling.

Clean the birdbath thoroughly once per week to prevent the water from becoming contaminated and clean the bowl more thoroughly than the daily rinsing. Combine one part liquid bleach with nine parts water and use it to scrub the bowl with a scrubbing sponge. Add soap as necessary to remove stuck-on debris in the bowl or around the edge of the bowl. Thoroughly rinse both soap and the bleach and water solution out of the birdbath.

Add a birdbath heating unit to keep water in the bowl from freezing during the winter months. Units are available that sit on the bottom of the bowl or float in the bowl. Other units have heating elements built in to the bowl. The Humane Society of the United States also recommends painting the bowl with black latex paint or applying a pond liner to heat the water with solar power.