How to keep water in bird bath
While it can seem like an obvious thing to achieve, water can mysteriously disappear out of a bird bath, but its not as odd as one may think.
How to keep water in a bird bath is to be sure the water depth is at least half way up to the top, if to deep water will spill. Add rocks to an empty bowl to stop any waves, ripples or splashing caused by birds. Wind can spill water to which the rocks can prevent, but a less windy location can stop it all together.
Don't be to concerned if water is seen to regularly disappear out of the bird bath, as you can always replenish it every once in a while, to maintain a depth of 1 to 2 inches.
How deep should a bird bath be is between 1-2 inches; as one inch allows smaller birds to bathe in safety - whilst the maximum 2 inch depth is suitable for larger birds.
Keep the water in the bowl of the bird bath by maintaining this depth far below the rim, as water can easily spill due to wind, use by many birds... or if the bird bath is unstable.
Stabilize a bird bath if its seen to move, while keeping it level to avoid a deep end.
Water must be shallow to operate a solar fountain bird bath, whilst a consistent water depth must be maintained to allow bird baths to use running water, to which is used to attract wild birds to it.
Empty bird baths are vulnerable to spillages, so you'd need to add rocks to prevent ripples or waves spilling water - as the rocks do become bonus submerged perches.
Reduce water depth in bird bath
Obviously a reduction in the amount of water you add to the bird bath can certainly help keep water in bird baths.
Bird bath water doesn't need to be filled to the top, nor does it have to be half full or high enough to see water continuously spill over its edges. Indeed, the water depth only has to be 1 to 2 inches deep.
Depending on what common backyard birds occupy your bird bath more frequently, cater to these birds with the water depth set at one inch for smaller birds like Robins or Bluebirds - or two inches for larger birds, such as Blue Jays or Northern Cardinals.
Maximum depth of bird bath water can be the cause of spilling over the edges, in which case you'd need to adjust the depth according to your bird bath specific needs.
Don't depend on the minimum depth of between 1 and 2 inches. Make it less if you have to, such as if the water bowl at its deepest part is only say 2 inches in total.
What this would achieve is water remaining in the bird bath bowl if its only half full, while birds can still happily preen, with an option to re-hydrate at all times in shallow water.
Add ROCKS to prevent swaying water
Causes of bird bath continuing to spill can be due to the bird bath being popular as it is, thus birds continue to use up the water to hydrate, or spill water out as birds splash around to prune their feathers.
Similarly, larger birds occupying a bird bath for their needs can use up far more water, so the water gets very shallow far more quickly.
With that in mind it could be just windy conditions simply throwing out water over the edges.
You know what you can do then to keep water in the bird bath, is to create a sort of tidal barrier - in which would stop waves being created in the water due to birds making a frenzy in it, or the wind blowing out water.
Rather than a fully cleared bird bath with only water in the bowl, the rocks that would protrude some way out of the water, will dampen the otherwise rough water.
Bonus with use of rocks is they become a simple perch for birds to land, with those that slope into water allowing birds to easily hydrate as they bend over to drink.
And whilst your at it, why not add pebbles or stones to line the base to artificially create your own depth to the bird bath.
Stabilize bird bath
What might seem obvious might not be for certain bird bath setups as an unstable bird bath can assist in wasting water.
To stand the best chance of keeping water in bird baths, the bird bath must be kept still to allow water to remain in the bowl - whilst a level bird bath can maintain water at a consistent depth.
How to stabilize a bird bath would involve sitting it on level ground, with the need to flatten out this area if need be, to be sure the bird bath is solid.
If you don't wish to follow these simple rules, the bird bath will lean to one side, whilst providing a shallow end and a deeper end. If the deep end is level with the rim of the bird bath bowl, water will continue to spill on the ground.
Keep water in a bird bath bowl by making sure its level, thus water will at the minimum be half way full, with no possible way for water to escape.
Where to place the bird bath would be on patio or a patch of gravel on the lawn or turf that is pre-flattened - only then can a bird bath sit on top of it.
Situate deep in coverage
Huge benefits to situating a bird bath deeper into cover, with one of them being the natural vegetation in the yard can protect the bird bath water from the wind.
Windy conditions can continuously spill water, thus a bird bath sitting next to a hedgerow or within a bush can avoid strong conditions.
What's great about this is the birds love a bird bath, and therefore bird feeders - buried not too deep into natural coverage, to offer them some protection. Birds can still find a bird bath hidden in coverage, as it will remain visible in the air.
How else all this can help keep water in the bird bath bowl is more shade can prevent water evaporating under the heat of the sun - whereas the shade can prevent his happening, all while keeping the water cool.
Situate bird baths within a little coverage to prioritize stopping wind throwing out water, but in doing so be careful this shadier spot is only cooler because its more windier.
Be sure the bird bath remains accessible, and still visible to birds flying over the yard.
Continue to top up water
And then there's your final solution to keeping water in a bird bath, to continue to fill it back up with lost water every once in a while.
In fact you may not have no other choice for those of you in hotter States, as this climate is sure to see water evaporate regularly in the sun.
Sun is a cause of water being soaked up into the atmosphere, therefore you'd have no choice than to replenish the bird bath once in a while.
It could be once or three times a week, but in doing so you'd be attending the bird bath more often. To which you will see signs of issues developing sooner, such as if the water is going green due to algae, you'll therefore know when to deal with it.
What you can do to be sure its not too much of an inconvenient to fill up the bird bath regularly; is fill up a jug of water while situating it in the yard so you can access it whenever the bird bath needs topping up.
Only then can you add extra water but if you have to replenish daily, use a bigger bowl.
To summarize
How to keep water in a bird bath is to first reduce the water depth if its too far up to the rim. Water doesn't need to be too high in a bird bath, so if you have it deeper than what's needed, it will spill.
Fill up the bird bath water bowl to 1 inch to accommodate smaller birds in the yard, or fill it up to 2 inches if larger birds use your bird bath more often.
If you can aim for a 1 to 2 inch water surface height to the top of the bird bath - then you should be safe. To continue to fill a bird bath higher than this will see water spill over, thus can be avoided if you use a more shallow depth of water.
Bird baths are often left empty with only water in the bowl, this isn't a good idea.
A large body of water such as this can be spilled with birds, particular the larger ones, throwing water out of the bowl as they preen or hydrate.
Similarly, wind can be the cause of water spilling out do to waves and ripples the wind creates. If such a thing were too happen to you - re-position the bird bath deeper into coverage, or at least to a location that is less windy.
What would be best to do is simply populate your empty bird bath bowl with rocks, with additional stones lining the base.
Several rocks can keep the water in the bird bath as any ripples, waves or splashes are kept to a minimum with less bathing space - all while the rocks will dampen the frenzy of birds.
What else you can do is stabilize the bird bath to prevent it rocking, thus spilling water. While being sure its level as the shallow end will always spill over on the ground.
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