Solar Power Bird Baths
Why would you need a solar powered birdbath? Why would you need a birdbath that has any kind of power associated with it? A birdbath is just a place for a bird to take a bath and get a drink of water, right?
There are a couple of reasons to use solar power to keep that water moving around in your birdbath. Birds like moving water. Birds know that moving water is safer water. A solar birdbath fountain will keep the water moving and circulating within the fountain. Mosquito are less likely to lay eggs in moving water. The sound of the moving water is very relaxing for people. Using a solar powered pump to keep the water moving can be easier then running power out to your birdbath. You are using renewable power source with solar as well.
When selecting a place to put your birdbath it is important to have all day direct sun light. A shady area of your garden is a bad choice. A better choice for shady area is a birdbath water wiggler. Water wigglers normally run off two D cell batteries. You can use rechargeable batteries and like solar you don’t have to run a power line out to the garden.
Another option to consider is the solar bird bath insert. This is a solar panel and pump with decorative lines that extend up over the birdbath. When placed in direct sunlight water is recirculated from the birdbath bowl up into pipes and then back into the bowl. The birdbath fountains generally have an extra reservoir to hold extra water. This is not the case with a simple insert.
Passive solar is used in the garden for a bird watering stations. These are designed to keep the water from freezing in the winter. For maximum performance it is a good idea to place these in direct sunlight as well. I have heard there are designs using active solar to keep the water warm but I have not had any experience with these models. If anyone would like to share their results with this type of unit please feel free to do so with a comment on this article.
Filed under: Bird Baths, Solar on July 23rd, 2009
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