Bert Swope
Birdbaths are not only meant to create attractive focal points, but also attract a plethora of woodland creatures like birds, butterflies, and insects that are beneficial to your backyard.
This is undoubtedly the easiest and efficient way to entice wildlife to your garden when compared to building birdhouses or planting beautiful flowers.
Not convinced yet? Among the benefits of adding a few birdbaths to your backyard garden and landscape.
Benefits Of Adding Birdbaths
1. Provide birds with a source of water
Birds need water for drinking and bathing, especially during the winter season when the natural water supplies have been subjected to freezing points, and there’s limited access to running water. You can help the birds with heated birdbaths, as this type prevents water from freezing.
A squirrel takes advantage of the bird bath
2.Attracts Other Wildlife
If you are an animal lover, then birdbaths will be your friend because birdbaths will attract other animals such as squirrels and frogs who may be in need of a drink during the summer heat or if you keep your birdbath free of ice in the winter even in the cooler months.
Over the past couple years I have made a couple bird friends, who when I’m cultivating my garden or I’m running with my shovel, will come running and wait nearby on another garden bed or on the fence to swoop in and scarf up any little grubs, bugs, or worms which I might uncover while cultivating my garden beds, which also helps to reduce pests in the garden with the added benefit of some entertainment while you’re working on it.
3. Improve aeration and control pests
Birdbaths attract different types of birds that feed on various pests, such as slugs, caterpillars, and grasshoppers — which threaten the fruits and vegetables in your garden. This means fewer destructive insects and, of course, less pesticide application.
Besides the pest control benefit, birds also play an essential role in boosting soil aeration, alleviating compaction through digging the garden in search of worms. When soil is properly aerated, roots will grow deeply for stronger, more vigorous lawn, crops, and flowers.
You also get to attract wasps, which feed on cabbage worms that destroy crops.
Bee having a drink from a birdbath
4. Promote pollination
Birdbaths can attract butterflies and bees — insects known as excellent pollinators. If you grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers, you’ll want to have a few birdbaths placed in inviting locations in your garden.
5. ReduceD Bird Damage In Your Vegetable Garden
One thing that I have noticed, is that when I keep my birdbaths filled and clean, my vegetable garden suffers less bird damage. When they have plenty to drink in hot weather, for example, they don’t raid my ripening tomatoes nearly as much, if at all. Same goes for my fruit trees, however, with fruit trees there’s always some bird loss from birds if you don’t protect your trees. I don’t mind if the birds get a few, because I always have more colorful birds around my backyard and trees, even in winter.
6. Support kids learning
Nature is beautiful, but, unfortunately, the connection kids have with nature isn’t really that strong as past generations before most people lived in cities and technology took over. By attracting different types of birds, you create an entertaining environment that present kids with a new opportunity to learn valuable lessons. For example, they can learn how to identify different types of birds, their habits, as well as migratory routes
Conclusion
There you have it! With the benefits of birdbaths above, it’s fair to say having one or more in your backyard is worth it.
