Song Sparrows Love to Take a Birdbath in a Little Bit of Rainwater
A plastic deck chair with rainwater pooled in the seat makes a perfect impromptu birdbath. Song Sparrows don't need very much water to have a good bath.
I've always been a bit reluctant to put a bird bath on my property because I worry that it might make the birds easy prey for neighborhood cats.
My home office has a door to the outside that opens into a shady wooded spinney - a cool quiet place even on a bustling summer day, and one of my favorite parts of the garden. This is where I hang a birdfeeder, right outside the office window, and a basket of wax begonias in summer.
There's a plastic deck chair out there as well, so I can sit outside to read or scribble writing notes. I've been less than a fan of the chair because its design creates a bowl in the seat that fills with water when it rains. Then leaves and other stuff fall in and if I'm not on top of it, a nasty brown organic soup develops. The chair is quite stained and rustic looking now.
We've had plenty of rain this week, but yesterday it wasn't raining and I opened the door to let some fresh air in. Soon, I heard a strange fluttering sound punctuated by little thumps. On investigation, I discovered a fastidious song sparrow having a bath in the bowl of my chair! He did a thorough job, ducking his head, dipping his breast, and combing water throughout his feathers with beak and claw. After a minute, he flew off, damp and happy, but throughout the day, I witnessed several more Song Sparrow visits to the bath. Song Sparrows nested on my property this year, and I suspect that the whole family is making use of my chair.
This morning I tipped the chair to dump the puddle, gave it a good scrub, and refilled it with fresh water. I guess I'd better buy a birdbath!
Do my poll on Avian influenzae on the Suite 101 Birds page from July 25 - Aug 08, 2006
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