Birdbath maintenance for Manchester backyards

Birdbaths come in many shapes and sizes. Photo by Karen Tucker, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0

Watching birds splash and drink from a backyard birdbath can be a great way to observe them exhibiting behaviors that are much different than those shown at a birdfeeder. Birds will often linger at a birdbath, giving the backyard birder more time to observe them. A backyard birdbath, however, is not one of those “set it and forget it” yard ornaments. Birdbaths require regular maintenance, which may be a bit different here in the Manchester area than it would be in other parts of the country.

Like birdfeeders, birdbaths need to be regularly cleaned to prevent the accumulation of bird droppings and reduce the chances of diseases like Salmonella from being spread among the local bird population. Additionally, because a birdbath is, by definition, a pool of standing water, there are other reasons for paying attention to birdbath hygiene.

In Manchester, there are mosquitoes. Mosquitoes breed in standing water, such as that which might be found in an untended birdbath. Mosquitoes can carry and transmit such diseases as West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. All Manchester residents are urged to check their yard and eliminate pools of standing water to help reduce mosquito populations in the area. For birdbaths, simply emptying the birdbath and refilling it with fresh water every few days will suffice. Mosquito larvae must remain in the water for 7-14 days before they can pupate and become adult mosquitoes. Dumping them before this time will kill them. The use of chemicals to control mosquito larva is definitely not recommended for birdbaths.

Another reason to regularly change the water in the birdbath, and even spray it down with a high pressure hose or give it a quick scrub between fillings, is to prevent the accumulation of algae. Algae can make even the most beautiful birdbath into a backyard eyesore in a hurry. Algae may be green and slimy or a brownish, orange color. Either way, it doesn’t look good and excessive algae will deter birds from visiting the birdbath.

There are birdbath warmers that some people use during the winter months to prevent the water in the birdbath from freezing, but, for a properly designed birdbath, there is no problem with simply letting the water freeze as any natural water body would. If the birdbath has shallow sloping sides and is no deeper than the recommended 3 inches, there should be no problem with the expansion of the freezing water cracking the birdbath bowl. Straight-walled or sharply sloping birdbaths should be emptied and stored away during the winter months to prevent cracking.

Each spring, check the stability of your birdbath. Frost and the spring mud season can cause the ground to shift and the birdbath to tilt or become unstable. Make sure it is level and on solid footing so that it isn’t at risk of falling over. The last thing any backyard bird enthusiast wants is to buy a birdbath, and then have to pick up the shattered pieces after it falls over.
That’s essentially all that needs to be done to maintain a birdbath in Manchester, New Hampshire. A well maintained birdbath can add a new dimension to backyard birdwatching and provides a real benefit to local birds.