Birds are attracted to birdbaths with dripping water. Kent Lindsey, host of DIY Kids, and the DIY Kids show how to make a great-looking birdbath for your garden from household items. You can even rig a drip system from a plastic soda bottle. Then you can have a splashing-good time watching the birds that come to enjoy your birdbath. Materials:
Plastic tray bottom from a large flowerpot
Smooth rocks
2-liter soda bottle
Pushpin
String
Optional: decorations
- Choose a large tray for your birdbath. If you don't have a tray, use an old trashcan lid turned upside down. Just make sure to clean it very well.
- Pick out rocks for the birdbath. Look for rocks in your back yard or buy them from a garden center. Rinse the rocks very well so they won't add dirt to your birdbath.
- Put the tray down, and line the bottom with rocks (figure A). You need enough to cover the bottom.
- If you like, add a small decoration to your birdbath (figure B) such as a flagpole top from a garden center or even a yard frog. A piece of driftwood from an aquarium shop makes a perfect perch for a bird. Whatever you use, make sure it doesn't take up too much space in the birdbath and that there's no way it could hurt the birds. Keep in mind too that although birds like dripping water, they don't like shiny objects, which would frighten them away from your birdbath.
- You can make a two-level birdbath by stacking two small flowerpot trays inside your large tray. Put one small tray upside down in the middle of the large tray. Add stones to the second small tray, and put it on top of the upside-down tray (figure C). Make sure the trays don't wobble.
- Now that you've set up the birdbath, you can prepare the waterworks. Turn a clean 2-liter plastic bottle upside down, and make a tiny hole in the bottom with a pushpin (figure D). This is a good job for a grown up. The bottom of the bottle has thick parts and thinner parts. Make the hole at a thinner spot, as the thicker plastic is too hard for a pushpin to pierce. Use just the tip of the pin so the hole will be as small as possible.
- To test the drip system, add water to the bottle, and screw on the bottle cap (figure E). The water will flow in a stream at first, then slow to a steady drip. If the water continues to flow in a stream, make a smaller hole in another 2-liter bottle.
- It's best to hang the drip bottle from a tree limb above the birdbath. Figure out with a parent's help where the birdbath should be so you can determine how much string you'll need to hang the bottle. Tie the string around the neck of the bottle, and you're ready to set up your birdbath (figure F).
- Take the birdbath and drip bottle into the yard. Set the birdbath on a small, sturdy table, an old tree stump or a stack of bricks -- whatever is handy.
- Add a few inches of water to the tray, and fill the bottle with water. Hang the bottle a few feet above the birdbath, and let it drip onto the tray (figure G).
RESOURCES :
Make Your Own Birdhouses & Feeders (Quick Starts for Kids! Books)
Model: 1885593554
Author: Robyn Haus
(2001)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Williamson Publishing Company
Charlotte, VT 05445
Email: info@williamsonbooks.com
Easy To Build Birdhouses (Storey Country Wisdom)
Model: 1580172334
Author: Mary Twitchell
(1999)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Storey Books / Storey Communications Inc.
Website: www.storey.com
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