How to Make an Automatic Bird Bath

In a previous blog, I briefly described my Automatic Bird Bath, and I will give more details here, especially how to make one.

  

Controlled by a timer, any debris accumulated during the day (fallen from trees or left by birds) is flushed out of the bowl of the bird bath at the end of the day.  I recommend setting the time to late in the evening when it is highly unlikely that a bird will be using it.  We don't want a bird to be suddenly and forcefully swept out while bathing!

The force of the flushing operation will leave the bowl nearly empty; but overnight, the dripper will refill the bowl.  During the day, the dripper will not only make a sound that advertises a source of water for the birds, but will also keep the bowl filled as the sun evaporates the water and as the birds splash some of the water out.

The next photo views the bird bath from the side, labeling some of the parts.  We will detail the hardware parts later.

I have supported the parts with a "shepherd's crook" pole, the kind typically used to support a hanging flower pot.  But the bent "crook" is not used, so any sturdy pole will do.

A bent metal strap is fastened to the pole with U-hooks U1 and U2, and to the hose with U-hooks U3 and U4.  The hose is a sturdy watering hose,  The usual male connector at the end of the hose is removed by cutting the hose with a hack-saw.  Clamp C flattens the end of the hose so that the water comes out as a flat, fan-shaped spray.  Before you adjust the angle and position of the bent metal strap, you should experiment with this fan-shaped spray to find the best angle and position of the hose to sweep out the bowl, tossing some debris into the bowl as part of the test.

The dripper D is just quarter-inch hose, the kind used for drip watering.  The drip hose is fastened to the pole with twist-ties or plastic tape.  The valve V in the photo is used to adjust the drip rate.  You can buy the valve from places that sell drip watering parts.  The part of the drip hose that arches from the pole over the center of the bird bath needs to be stiffened.  I wrapped wire around a wood dowel to make a spiral, which I slipped over the drip hose.  One end of the same wire that was not wrapped around the dowel was wrapped around the pole to anchor the drip hose.  The drip hose should be high enough to give large birds enough room for splashing.  Then bend the stiffened part of the drip hose so that it will drip near the center of the bowl.

The hardware parts are shown in the next diagram.  I bought one-inch wide steel material as thick as a typical steel hinge at a hardware store and cut it to the lengths indicated here.  I bought the U-bolts and small straps used with them as-is at the hardware store.  The U-bolts must be large enough to fit around the watering hose, and this will generally be large enough to fit around the pole.

The long strap must be bent on an angle at its center.  The angle is needed so that the hose can pass by one side of the pole.  To assure yourself of the correct angle, make a 'dummy' strap of cardboard, then hold the hose at the desired angle alongside of the pole, and bend the 'dummy' strap so that one half is parallel to the pole and the other half is parallel to the hose.  Note the angle of the bend (about 50 degrees) and how far it is bent (about 80 degrees).

Use a sturdy vise mounted on a work bench to bend the strap.  Mark the location and angle of the bend, and clamp the strap in the vise with the bend line at the edge of the vice jaws.  Then hit the strap near the bend line with a hammer until it is bent the right amount by your best estimate.  You can adjust this later.

The short strap can be bent by a similar method.  I recommend drilling the holes after bending, as this will make it easier make the holes aligned.  Here it is more important that the bend is centered, so that the two ends will come close together.   So reversing the strap in the vice after partly bending it can help.  Also, because the strap will wrap around a partly flattened hose, we don't want the bend the strap too sharply.  Clamping a big nail or small bolt alongside the strap near the edge of the clamp will promote a 'softer' bend (more like a U, less like a V).  Try how it fits over the end of the hose, flattening the hose, but not so much that water flow is shut off.  Drill a hole through both ends of the strap large enough for a bolt to go through the holes.  The short strap should not be bent too much; the two sides should be about 1/2 inch apart, and it should need the bolt and a nut to pull the strap a little more to make the two sides of the strap parallel on either side of the flattened hose.

Here are the controls.  A Y-connector divides the water supply for the flushing function and for the dripper.

The flushing is controlled by a water timer to turn on at 10 pm so no birds will be flushed out of the bird bath.  Three seconds is sufficient to flush the bird bath, by most water timers cannot be programmed for intervals that short, so it is set for the shortest possible interval (one minute).  When on, the water flows at full pressure.

Drip systems are not designed to operate at full water pressure.  So on the right side of the Y-connector, we have a pressure reducer and an adapter that adapts the 3/4 inch hose hardware to the 1/4 inch drip hose.  You can also insert a flow-control button in the 1/4 inch drip hose line.  These can be bought where drip system parts are sold.

My bird feeders and bird bath are at the back edge of my back lawn, near scrubs and trees, an ideal location because birds want a place that feels safe from predators, at the boundary of a place to hide in foliage (but close enough to look for an opportunity to visit the feeders or bath) and an open area to flee if needed.  Because it is near trees, the bath tends to collect debris from the trees; and because the water supply and controls are near the house, the flush and drip hoses must cross the lawn.

My method of burying a hose under a lawn is fast and simple.  I thrust a flat shovel as deep as I can into the grass, and tilt it forward and back to wedge open a narrow trench, repeating this along a mostly straight line.  Then I push the hose down into the trench as far as I can, using a broom handle or long scrap of 3/4 inch lumber.  Then stepping on either side of the trench pushes the grass back into place, closing the crevice.  Within a week, all evidence of the crevice will disappear.  Winter freezing is not a problem when the water is turned off, because the hose is soft, not rigid like metal pipes.

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I have acquired 45 patents during my 43-year career, all of which are expired by now.  But in my retirement, I am too lazy to file for a patent for my automatic bird bath.  I know how much work it takes, even with the help of a patent lawyer.  I have preferred to put it in the "public domain" for any one to use.

Not everyone has the tools and muscle to make the straps.  But if you are willing to make these or more parts of my design for others, leave me a comment with your contact information, and I will publish it here.  But I won't get involved with any financial arrangements.

One reader of this blog makes and sells his own patented design, which automatically cleans and refills, but does not include a dripper.  See http://selfcleaningbirdbath.com/ .

The Automatic Birdbath

In my retirement, I enjoy gardening and birdwatching, among other interests.

To make the gardening less work, I have installed two automatic watering systems. One, using 'soaker' hoses, waters all of the garden areas in the front yard and on the left side of the house. Another, a 'drip' system, waters the potted herb garden on the right side of the house and nearby potted flowers, and the flower boxes on the railings of the rear deck. These two systems use separate timers because they work so differently.

To make the birdwatching less work, I use bird feeders that hold a lot of seed, so they don't need refilling so often. And after a couple of years, I finally figured out how to fend off the squirrels and pigeons.

I also provide a birdbath, which the birds use for drinking and bathing -- and some species also use it to wash certain food items. The birdbath tends to collect drowned worms, loose feathers, bird poop, and stuff that falls from the trees. And the water level goes down, not so much from evaporation (it's in the shade), but from the birds splashing when they bathe. So the birdbath has needed cleaning and refilling every day -- that is, until I invented the Automatic Birdbath.

It started with an attempt to add a dripper to the birdbath. You can hang a container of water over the birdbath that drips, making a sound that attracts the birds. It also refills the birdbath when birds splash the water out. But it's another thing to refill, can get clogged, and doesn't usually drip all day.

I tried refilling the dripper by an extension from my herb garden drip system, but it just didn't work well. Then, following a suggestion from a fellow member of the GardenWeb Birdwatching Forum, I ran an independant drip line from an outside faucet to the birdbath.

Then, I thought, why not run another line (garden hose) off a timer to flush the birdbath automatically once a day? I previously used the garden hose to clean and refill the birdbath, and I found that a fan-shaped stream of water at just the right angle would sweep the birdbath clean, even emptying it. By setting the timer to 10 pm, I avoid scaring a bird to death by suddenly sweeping it off the birdbath! And leaving the birdbath nearly empty isn't a problem, because the dripper refills the birdbath by the next morning. For more details, click here.

The most frequent bird bather is the catbird. (Actually I have a pair, but I can't tell the male and female apart.) When I was makiing adjustments to the flush hose, the catbird watched eagerly nearby, scolding me for taking so long. As soon as I was done, the catbird hopped in, took a bath, then hopped down to the ground, and looked back up at the birdbath. I figured he was thinking "Wow! That felt good!" Sure enough, he flew back up and took another bath!

The catbirds think the birdbath is theirs, I'm sure. I estimate that they take at least half-a-dozen baths a day. One day, a blue jay took a bath and left. Then a robin takes his turn and leaves. Shortly afterward, Mama Cardinal shows up, but having a timid personality, she perches above the birdbath on the shepherd's crook, contemplating the situation first. Then both catbirds come at the same time, landing on opposite sides of the birdbath, ignoring the cardinal. They dance tentatively around -- "You first, dear." "No, you go first" "No, ladies first".. The cardinal gets nervous and leaves. One of the catbirds settles the issue by flying down to the ground. The other catbird starts bathing on the right side of the birdbath. Just then a house sparrow lands on the left edge and drinks a few sips, not flustered by the splashing on the right side. Then the catbird moves over to the left side and splashes water right in the sparrow's face! Needless to say, the sparrow didn't stay around for any more abuse. After that catbird left, the robin came back for another bath. But the catbird on the ground flew up and hovered a moment at the side of the birdbath, startling the robin, which flew away.