Bird Bath Fountains

Splashing for the birds

A fountain truly sets off a yard's beauty and decor - it allows the sound of running water to peacefully enter your paradise. The bird visitors to your garden will think so, too - they will love to splash around in your water feature. The good thing about fountains is that you can include them with garden ponds or existing bird baths. You can turn a pond into a ground bath complete with a softly dripping trickle or a drainage pool for shining sheets of water.

Birds love running water - the very sound of it is enough to bring them from surrounding yards. Birds that won't come to feeders will often come straight to a bird bath or dripper. You may even see a bird or two that you didn't know lived in your area. After all, not all birds eat seed, but all birds drink water.

Fountains can be as simple as an add-on submersible pump-and-plug or as complicated as a seven-step decorative copper masterpiece - it just depends what you want in your yard. They move the water in your pond or bird bath so that birds are attracted to the ripples and mosquitoes can't breed on the stagnant water. This reduces West Nile Virus and other avian-spread diseases by a fair amount. You'll keep your birds healthy and happy as well as providing a striking feature for your yard.

Bird bath fountains run on electricity, but you can also get those that run on solar energy. These include special panels that trap sunlight during the day to give a continuous source of energy to the fountain. These are a little more expensive, but you won't have to worry about trying to find a plug or watching your electric bill go up.

If you decide to pair a bird bath fountain with a garden pond, make sure to grow plants that will attract birds into your garden. You don't only need a feeder or a bird house to make birds comfortable - a fully functional bird garden will bring you joy, and most importantly, allow you to help the wild bird population.