Winter birding in the backyard is one of the most enjoyable activities I have personally ever done.
It is quite relaxing to sit and watch birds in the backyard during the middle of winter, especially when most other people are inside, leaving the neighborhood in a wintery state of serenity.
Attracting wild birds to a backyard garden during winter isn’t particularly hard, but there is one simple thing we can do to help attract more birds to the yard more consistently.
The easiest and cheapest way to attract birds to your backyard during winter is to add a heated birdbath.
Birds need water year-round, and in cold climates where the water freezes during the middle of winter, offering water each day can bring in more birds than just feeding alone.
But the hardest part of offering water for backyard birds is, without question, keeping it from freezing.
I live in a climate where from late November through early February water oftentimes freezes during the night.
In years past, I would always carry a bucket of warm water each morning to thaw out the birdbath.
But during harsh winters, I will admit, carrying water out to the birds on a daily basis can be quite miserable, to say the least.
We sometimes get temperatures here below 0 degrees Fahrenheit during our harshest winters and water is critical at those times for birds.
A couple of years ago, we tried a heated birdbath and it made life a lot easier by keeping the water open all winter long, as well as attracting a high number of birds even during the coldest months of winter.
We placed the birdbath on the ground near the feeders and almost immediately the goldfinches and white-crowned sparrows found it and started drinking from it.
During snowfalls, the heat would not only keep the water thawed but also kept the snow from piling up and covering the birdbath.
The only downside is you have to have electricity for it to work. We are fortunate to have a power outlet nearby so hooking up the heated birdbath was simple.
The best place for the birdbath is near a small bush or tree but out in the open where it can be easily found.
If you put out wild bird seed, place the birdbath in the same area as your bird feeder but not close to where the seed will spill or get flipped into the birdbath.
Once a couple of birds find the water, it’s only a matter of time before more and more birds come and start drinking from it.
The birdbath we ended up using is the GESAIL 75W All Seasons Heated Birdbath.
During the summer months, we just unplug it and use it all year long.
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During the hottest parts of summer, we add a couple of non-heated birdbaths to the garden, but during winter we use just 2 of the GESAIL birdbaths.
Winter birds don’t need as much water as they do during the hot summer months but they do need to drink each day.
Sometimes during winter, they will take baths in the heated birdbath but more times than not they just come for a quick drink.
Simply put, water is very important for birds during the winter, and if you live in an area where the water does freeze this time of year, offering open water with a simply heated birdbath can help attract more birds for you to enjoy.
I hope this helps bring in more birds to your backyard bird garden this winter.
Water is a simple but oftentimes overlooked way to attract birds to the backyard, especially during winter.
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There is nothing quite like watching birds in the backyard and that is why we started this website so others can learn and enjoy it as much as we do.