How high should a bird bath be off the ground
Bird baths will normally be sitting on top of a pedestal where its located on the lawn, yet the possibility of placing a bird bath higher will keep nuisance pests out of reach.
How high should a bird bath be off the ground will be anywhere between an inch, and 8 feet up. To begin with, it can depend on why you want to raise the bird bath; could it because its what you have to hand, or do you wish to avoid pets or pests accessing the bath, and if so, place it high to keep out of reach.
Focusing on what is a bird bath suspended on a chain, or a bird bath sitting up to two feet off the ground on a pole, is irrelevant at this time.
How high a bird bath should be off the ground isn't as important than accessibility for all wild birds to access with ease.
Static bird baths get a tough time as they are - when few too wild birds will use it - thus a highly accessible, but clearly visible bird bath location in the yard will be your primary goal.
Dish style bird baths can be placed on top of a wall or roof if you that is what you want, with little issues developing - yet a hanging bird bath can be anywhere you feel is safe.
Where you decide to locate a bird bath, be it one sitting on top of a stand, a simple water dish, a ground bird bath or a hanging style bird bath - they all must be located in a way they are still sitting out in the open - so wild birds feel confident to use it.
Re-locating a bird bath higher up can shift it to a shaded spot, of which the solar powered fountain won't operate as it should. And remember, a well lit up bird bath in a vibrant color can be beneficial to you in attracting birds to a highly visible bird bath.
Static bird baths will see more use with noise and running water to attract an abundance of wild birds, of which solar or wired bird baths must still be operational, and within reach to the mains that powers it.
Shifting a bird bath high off the ground must still be made accessible to you, as its important you continue to the clean your bird bath, along with changing out the water as often as you can
Bird bath must be low
When it comes to a bird bath sitting on a pedestal up to two feet off the ground, this is a location wild birds expect to find a water source.
Result of that is a bird bath centered in the middle of the yard where a bird bath would normally be found in the neighborhood.
Bird baths must be sat low to the ground because its here wild birds are expected to find it, when its time to bathe or hydrate.
How high should a bird bath be exactly can vary - though approximately two to three feet off the ground is a good start - yet its possible to utilize a ground bird bath that would sit just a few inches above ground level.
Bird baths must be low to the ground because this is normally where backyard birds find water.
Similarly, wild birds will drink or hydrate in puddles or around the edges of ponds, of which, are on the ground of course.
Sure, birds will drink droplets off the leaves in trees or higher surfaces, but when it comes to using a bird bath in the yard, they'd expect the bird bath to be sitting low to the ground - in a sunlit area close to the bird feeders.
Water missed too high up
While backyard birds will drink off high places in the wild, a bird bath in a yard is expected to be in a bowl or bird bath placed specifically to attract wild birds nearer to the ground - as wild birds come to remember this setup like they do with bird feeders.
Take a suspended bird bath hung up on a wall bracket or tree branch; positioning a water source this high up isn't a place our common backyard birds expect to find fresh water - and therefore it may not be the time to drink or bathe - when right now your birds priority is to forage in the yard or eat out of bird feeders.
Suspending bird feeder off a bracket can be used for sure, while at the same time its a location bound to be missed.
Birds will briefly perch around a suspended dish for a bird bath, yet its a different story getting them to use it.
Getting wild birds to use a bird bath is about attracting as many birds as possible, and therefore the chances of at least one bird bathing or drinking, increases dramatically.
Bird baths that are made to be suspended are usually done so in a quiet, isolated area that is missed by all but a few visiting birds.
How high you decide to hang this bird bath off the ground - or place it on a flat surface if it doesn't hang - won't matter as much, as hanging the bird bath on the sunny side, where wild birds can easily find it.
Level with bird feeders a possibility
So there's the possibility of suspending or placing your bird bath off the ground, at the same distance you'd hang your bird feeders.
Bird baths that are made to hang can sometimes be hung among bird feeders - rather than placing an on the ground located bird bath some distance away - because its likely to get used more.
Suspending a bird bath along with bird feeders will result in more contaminated water, yet that can be rectified when cleaning out the water more often.
Hang a bird bath along with bird feeders your birds frequent the most, be it on a bird feeder pole or tree branch, to receive an unusual uptake of use.
Leveling up a bird bath that is made to be suspended will benefit in a way its spotted as birds use the feeders. Only when your birds are done feeding will they investigate what could be a bird waterer or open water dish.
For the record, bird feeders are commonly hung 4 to 6 feet off the ground, thus your bird bath would be about the same height.
To avoid debris
Reasons why you'd want to suspend or re-position a bird bath off the ground can vary, but in doing so the distance off the ground is completely in your hands. With no hard or fast rules to apply... hang a bird bath as high as its needed.
In fact, bird baths don't need to be elevated at all when ground bird baths exist on the market - and appear to be quite popular to exclusive ground feeding birds.
Suspended bird baths, if located in an accessible yet visible location, will benefit in keeping what is mostly contaminated water out of the way of pets and children.
It can also discourage wild animals returning to drink when the bird bath water is out of reach of pests.
What benefit the rising of a bird bath off the ground provides you will be something you may not of thought of previously, and that is keeping debris out of the water.
Bird baths sitting directly on the ground, or are only 2-3 feet off the ground on a post, will see dirt, leaves, grime and filth blow into the bird bath water over the course of a few days - elevated bird baths do too but there will be less mess to clean up.
So you see, elevated bird baths will keep pets, pests and potentially children accessing water, intended for wild birds who do spread disease and bacteria.
Summary
How high should a bird bath be off the ground can depend on your circumstances, though there isn't an exact height that can apply to us all.
Think about why you'd want to suspend or place a bird bath higher up rather than rely on a bird bath sitting on top of a static post just 2-3 feet off the ground.
Well, if its just because you'd like a bird bath made to be hung, then suspend it as high as you would with flower pots or bird feeders currently in use.
If you have toddlers or children then hang the bird bath to keep this disease riddled water source well out of reach of them all.
With that, to avoid attracting and therefore providing a water source to wild animals like raccoon's or deer - then suspend the bird bath some 8 feet off the ground. All this must still lead to you continuing to have access to the bird bath so you can replenish it.
Bird baths sitting on the ground or a few feet up in a sunlit location, are used more as its a place where wild birds expect to find a water source.
Suspending or positioning a bird bath higher up will usually result in it being placed in a location out of direct sun, yet will be in an area that isn't usually visited by birds.
How high should you hang or place a bird bath can vary, although I would rely on the default distance off the ground when utilizing a bird feeder pole - or whatever tree branch remains accessible but is clearly visible to the backyard birds.
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