Birds bathing in the birdbath in winter!

Chestnut back chickadee at the bird bath

I know that the local birds are drinking from our bird bath throughout the year. And since I rinsed and filled up the bath last weekend, I assumed that there would still be some water left in it a week later. So you can how surprised I was yesterday morning to discover that the bath was completely empty! Are the birds really that thirsty?

I rinsed out the bird bath and the rock that I keep in it to provide a platform for the birds when they are drinking the water, then filled the bath with fresh water.

A few hours later I observed 2 white crowned sparrows taking turns, happily splashing in the bath!

THAT'S what's going on. So birds do bathe in the water in the winter, too!

The chestnut back chickadee in the above photo is another frequent guest, but I haven't actually seen it bathing.