Attract birds all winter with DIY heated birdbath

A goldfinch stops for a drink during freezing temperatures at our heated birdbath.

Water is critical for wildlife during extreme cold

A dependable source of water can be a critical factor deciding whether your backyard wildlife make it through extreme cold conditions.

The temperatures, often freezing overnight, make it difficult for our backyard birds – especially when it comes to obtaining water. Even those of us who are vigilant about keeping our feeders full, too often underestimate the importance of a reliable water source.

Ensuring a reliable source of fresh water is probably more important to our backyard birds than a source of food. Birds naturally store seeds leading up to winter and they can forage in our gardens for additional sources of food throughout winter.

But, having access to water becomes much more difficult.

A heated birdbath can be the difference between life and death for our backyard wildlife.

So, when our bird bath heater stopped working during a recent cold spell, I didn’t hesitate to go in search of another one. That led me directly to the Urban Nature Store where I had a choice of a number of heated bird bath alternatives from simple units that drop into existing bird baths to more extravagant bird baths with the heating element is embedded in the bird bath.

The selection was truly impressive. It’s important to note that heated birdbaths do not remain on at all times. Most have a thermal regulator on them that turns the unit off and on to maintain a water temperature just above freezing. This means the heater is not using electricity 24-hours a day.

I chose the K&H heater at $69 Canadian, but any of their offerings would have likely got the job done.

I must say, however, that this unit has performed exceptionally well, even in the record-cold temperatures we have experienced over the past couple of weeks.

We are lucky enough to live near a small, fast-flowing stream that provides emergency water sources to all our neighbourhood birds and wildlife that can easily access it.

However, I like to help out by ensuring a reliable water source in the garden. Not only does it make their lives a little easier, it attracts a wide variety of birds including many that may not regularly visit the feeders.

Squirrels are also regular visitors to the DIY birdbath.

For my other posts on bird baths, check out adding water to your garden and a DIY solar drip conversion.

Why water is critical for birds especially in winter

Water is critical to birds in the heat of the summer and even more important in the winter when traditional water sources are frozen over, including ponds and puddles. Bathing is an important part of a bird’s feather maintenance.

Wetting the feathers in a bird bath helps to loosen dirt and makes feathers easier to preen.

When preening, birds carefully rearrange the feathers and spread oil from the preen gland so they remain waterproof and trap an insulating layer of air underneath to keep them warm. That’s vital during cold winters where I live, especially when temperatures and wind chills can reach a bone chilling -30C and beyond and stay that way for days.

In fact, this has been a particularly bad winter in our area with prolonged periods of well-below freezing temperatures even during daylight hours. As I write this at around 11 am on January 31st, the outside temperature stands at minus 15 Celsius with a windchill of minus 23C. For those still using farenheit, that’s 5F and minus 10F with the windchill.

A cardinal stops for a drink among the stones in the heated bird bath and outdoor photo studio refection pond.

Birds lack sweat glands, so they traditionally need less water than mammals. They do, however, lose water both through respiration and in their droppings. Many insectivorous birds get most of their water from their food, but seed-eating birds, which are our most popular visitors in winter, have a dry diet and need to drink several times a day.

The appeal of a reliable water source may even be a stronger draw to birds than a well-stocked feeder, especially if there is no other reliable water source in the area.

Attract birds to your heated bird bath

The heated bird bath ready for winter.

If you set up your heated bird bath in a separate area to where you normally have your bird bath, or your heated bird bath is entirely new to your garden, don’t be surprised if it takes a while for the birds to discover and be comfortable using it.

I have a couple of small feeders in the dogwood just above the heated bird bath, so there are always lots of birds around. Be sure to locate the feeder far enough away from the bird bath to ensure that the seed does not fall into the water.

My feeder is located just outside of our French door allowing me to photograph the birds from the comfort of our home. Consider locating yours near a window where you can both appreciate and/or photograph them.

To encourage birds to use your heated birdbath, be sure to set it up in a safe area of the garden. In winter, birds need even more cover in case of attack. We have a Coopers Hawk that visits regularly looking to make our birds into a meal.

Include perches above the bird bath to allow the birds to come down and check out the bird bath from a short distance. Include stones or landing spots inside the bird bath where smaller birds can either drink from or wade into the water slowly.

The stones also help hold the heat in the birdbath and offer birds more of an ice-free area to drink from the birdbath.

Build your own photo studio for the birds

With this in mind, I set about creating both a reliable water source and a backyard photo studio and reflection pond. In fact, I have two: one large reflecting pool and a smaller heated pool that will be the main source of water in the yard when the temperatures turn to freezing.

Our DIY project started with a round, medium-size black plastic basin that I picked up from a local nursery for just over $10.00. It’s a couple inches deep, so it’s perfect for small- and medium-sized birds to use safely. Larger birds, like jays and robins, will not hesitate to create havoc in the bath as they splash about, but we’re all good with their daily antics.

This bird bath is quickly becoming the gathering place for our backyard birds.

It sits on a concrete bench just outside our family room French door where I can easily monitor the water levels. At the same time, it’s close enough that I can use it to capture photographs of our feathered friends enjoying a bath. And, I can do it from the warmth of our family room.

Cute little Carolina Wren taking advantage of the heated bird bath to get water during winter.

An electric heater from was carefully placed in the bird bath and hidden with a thick layer of pea gravel and a few larger river rocks to give the birds a landing spot.

A birch branch across the back will help to stabilize the bird bath in case a large bird or animal decides to use it as their personal bath tub. It also creates a lovely background for the birds using the feeder. A few other branches help to hide the edge of the plastic tray, give it a little more stability and add to its natural appearance.

The heater, buried in pea gravel, keeps the bird bath ice-free in the coldest temperatures but remain hidden under the gravel.

The heated pea gravel also plays a role in helping to keep the water ice-free, but, if necessary, adding a kettle full of hot water on particularly cold mornings will keep the water open.

The pea gravel also provides birds with a gradual slope into the water much like a sandy beach. This allows birds of all sizes to enter the water to a comfortable depth, and put them in a position that creates good photographic opportunities.

Although the goal was to create a reflection pond that doubles as a heated bird bath, the round plastic dish comes up a bit short to capture perfect reflections of the birds on a regular basis. It will work nicely for a small bird on the pea gravel, but the reflection will likely fall just short for a larger bird like a blue jay or cardinal.