9 Clever Ways To Keep Your Bird Bath From Freezing This Winter

Apart from stocking bird feeders with energy-intensive suet and sunflower seeds, the key to having common birds visit your garden in the winter is offering fresh water — through pools, fountains, or bird baths. Regrettably, as the mercury plunges, these fixtures (just like natural water reservoirs) collect ice crystals, denying easy access to birds. On the face of it, such freezing shouldn't be problematic, as most birds can feed on snow and sleet cover. However, doing so requires them to expend significant energy in liquefaction — energies that could be spent elsewhere, like food foraging, or better yet, saved for roosting.

Such circumstances drive home the need to keep your bird baths unfrozen so that the birds may quickly flock in for a sip and preen their feathers for better insulation. Fortunately, there's plenty you can do to melt the ice water without breaking the bank, such as repositioning the bird bath in sunny areas, darkening its base for higher heat retention, adding rocks to keep the water floating, and so much more, as we highlight below. Interested in inviting birds to your yard this winter? Here are nine clever ways to keep your bird bath from freezing.

Relying on the scientific principle that the greater the surface area, the greater the time it takes to freeze, the easiest way to keep your bird baths liquid is to fill them up to the brim. However, this doesn't imply that you switch over to deeper saucers. Ideally, bird baths shouldn't be deeper than 2 inches in their middle. Even better, they must gradually slope downward, starting at a depth of 1 inch at their margins, closely mimicking the water sources present in the wild. Clean the bird baths regularly to offer the visiting avians a healthy drink.

While during summers bird baths are usually propped in a shaded location to stem evaporation, the story is something else when the weather grows chilly. In winter, bird baths must be moved into areas exposed to the sun for the greater part of the day, preferably against south or west-facing walls. This should slow down freezing, ensuring a more liquid supply for a longer duration, besides improving visibility. However, make sure to erect a windbreak to keep desiccating drafts away. Alternatively, position the bird bath near tall trees — they'll double up as a cover.

Given how dark surfaces absorb more heat and light than their lighter counterparts, taking steps to darken your bird bath's bottom can help delay its freezing. But you must offer it decent sun exposure. For instance, you could brush the bath in black or any dark-toned, resinous paint. Another option is to pad the bottom with a black plastic liner, or upcycle the remnants of pond liners. Ensure it's fully secure to the surface, lest it interfere with the birds' plumage. You could also place a couple of black rocks or a spare black plate inside.

You should put a tennis ball in your bird bath this winter before it freezes. The reason? So long as the winter winds keep the tennis balls moving across the water's surface, they will smash through any just-formed ice, staving off a permanent freeze to an extent. Indeed, any tiny floatable object, including ping pong or rubber balls, wine corks, or wonky rocks, will accomplish the job. You can even add rocks and stones to provide birds with a sure footing, ensuring they don't get submerged while drinking. However, this approach won't work in below-freezing temperatures.

Assuming you don't have to trudge into the blanket of snow to reach the bird bath, consider scraping the ice intermittently during the day and refilling it. Alternatively, pour warm (not boiling) water into the bird bath to loosen the ice layer to make it more accessible to your feathered regulars. A quick note of caution, though: While your grandma might've had luck deicing bird baths by adding in glycerin, such a move is ill-advised. Aside from raising blood sugar to life-threatening levels, glycerin pads bird feathers, diminishing their insulating effects and raising the risk of contracting hypothermia.

Another easy way to keep your bird bath from freezing is to fit it with a water-heating instrument, like immersion heaters or bubblers, lining the garden center shelves. They're safe to use since they automatically turn off if the bird bath ever dries out. They don't entail any major utility bills either since the aim is to keep the water liquid and not warm. However, you'll need a handy electricity socket close by that's preferably connected to a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to future-proof against electrocution. Alternatively, make use of extension cords.

If you aren't too keen about splurging on commercial heaters, you can DIY your own. You just need a spare flower pot. Simply shove any light bulb inside the pot and light it up; make sure the cords are insulated from snow. Next, top up the pot with your bird bath so that it can enjoy the incoming heat, deferring frosting. Another option is to place a tealight inside a drilled metal tin and brace your bath up top. Want something even easier? Stick your hand warmer beneath the bird bath's exterior.

This one's a bit labor-intensive but may be the only way out for those lacking suitable electrical outlets. Based on how low the temperatures get, buy multiple frost-resistant saucers, ideally made from reinforced plastic, metal, or resin and in dark colors, like Bleuhome Store's 2-pack Plastic model. Avoid concrete, ceramic, and porcelain as they're prone to cracking from ice accumulation. You may also DIY your own bird baths by upcycling timeworn shallow pans or trash can lids. At the first sign of freezing (or the next morning), switch the outdoor bird bath to avoid de-frosting it.

Call it a cheat code if you like, but the niftiest way to avoid the problem of freezing altogether is to purchase any of the different types of heated bird baths available for freezing winters. Wild Birds Unlimited offers a thermostatically controlled, easy-clean bird bath that's reputed for being a reliable portable water source for birds during winter. If your area receives sunlight during the day, look for solar heaters, like HLQMFHT Store's Metal Solar model. Remember, solar bird baths won't work during overcast days, and so may offer little utility in the dreary north.