Birds in the Baths

To ensure that our visiting birds have more drinking and bathing opportunities, I purchased this solar powered bird fountain bath. We already have two other dishes to serve as baths, but we definitely needed some kind of fountain for the hummingbirds.

It didn't take long, maybe less than a week for the birds to discover and trust this new attraction.

Here is an Annas hummingbird enjoying a shower while perched on the rim of the fountain bath.

It also drinks by pointing its beak down and shooting out its long tiny tongue onto the surface of the water in the bath.

Sparrows are also visiting in flocks now.

Sometimes there are as many as six of them sitting around the bath, as well as bathing in it.

Apparently the sparrows visiting are mostly fledglings. You can tell by their wide, yellow rimmed "frogmouth" beaks.

American crows like to also occasionally stand in the bath and drink the water.

Meanwhile, larger regulars, such as this Northern Mockingbird still prefer to bathe in the small "bathtub".

Other birds that bathe in this bowl are California towhees and Western scrub jays.

Part of my daily morning ritual is to scrub all three baths clean and fill with fresh water.