We've gotten snow here today and reading your post inspired me!! My heated birdbath is also unplugged and buried - but I know I must have something I can put out for the birds in the meantime. And I have a railing in view of the feeders, which is where it will go!

Thanks for sharing your solution to this problem, and Happy New Year!

I loved your pictures. That Song Sparrow is so adorable taking a bath.

I'm curious....why did you unplug the heated birdbath?

Annz that was my question too. We get very harsh winters in Michigan and my heated bath has never failed even in the worst of storms. Knock wood I didnt just jinx myself! LOL

our heated birdbath stays plugged in till spring! Should we be unplugging it??

I unplugged it because of the very strong NE winds that were forecast. The outlet on the deck is under a roof overhang and protected under normal circumstances, but it faces east. I'm right on the coast and a northeaster blasts that side of the house. The overhang is useless during a northeaster.

I was worried both about that outlet and about tree branches smashing onto the birdbath and maybe tangling with the electrical cord which hangs about 5 feet down from the deck and then runs along the ground for abut 20 feet. Theoretically the outlet (a GFI type) would trip a breaker and cut off power if there was an incident, but I hate to rely on that. If the storm occurred during the daytime I could deal with a problem, but the worst winds were forecast for the middle of the night.

I didn't want to be lying awake in the middle of the night hearing fierce winds and waves crashing and worrying about a live electrical connection.

So I just unplugged it and slept reasonably well, considering the noise. It was probably not necessary but it wasn't a big deal to unplug it, then dig out the birdbath and plug it in again.

Claire

I hadn't plugged my bird bath in yet - it was working great through our unseasonably warm fall without needing to be plugged in, and then I had a hip replacement and before we knew it we had a snowstorm and a lot of ice afterward.

Most of the ice is off the deck now so we should be able to get that bath up and running. I've only been able to go out on the deck in recent days, and it's seemed so good to get my feeders back up to speed too. Luckily the birds are still here!

I plugged the birdbath in within a few days; I now put out the styrofoam just as an extra attraction.

The birdbath is a ground bath, not deck mounted. I probably would have been even more worried about the wind if it was mounted on my deck railing.

Here it is a year ago. I don't know if the turkey was considering taking a bath, but it wouldn't have fit very well.

Claire

Claire,

I am thinking about give your idea a try. How big of a rock do you need in the middle.

Another idea for container would be those take out containers you get at restaurants. They are shallower, but are wider.

Paul

Paul: I didn't put a rock inside the styrofoam container; it's in the copper birdbath and is iced in. The rock in that birdbath serves to make the bath shallow enough for little birds to bathe and to allow them to sidle down and drink when the water level is lower. Now that it's iced in, I just put the styrofoam on top of the rock so it wouldn't slide around.

I also have been putting the styrofoam in a snowbank so it won't slide around.

Takeout containers are a good idea. It seems to be important for the inside edges to be smooth; otherwise I break the styrofoam trying to get the ice out. Of course, that would give me a good excuse to buy more takeout rather than to cook....

The heated birdbath is working now, but it's on the other side of the house for logistical reasons and I still refill a saucer or styrofoam every day.

Claire

Hi, everyone. New here, but I was intrigued by this thread and got to thinking. You could buy one of those cheap styrofoam icechests at the Dollar Store or elsewhere that cost about $2-3.00, and cut the bottom portion down to where it is only 2 or 3" tall to use for a birdbath. I may try that myself. We are having a very cold winter for temperate Oklahoma.

Susan

Susan: That would probably work, but the problem is getting the ice out to refill it with water. I have a plastic plant saucer I just turn over and carefully stomp on to knock the ice out. I say "carefully" because I cracked the first plastic saucer I tried by stomping too enthusiastically. Styrofoam doesn't take well to stomping.

You could just pour boiling water into the middle of it. I've done that with smaller containers (I microwave water in a two-cup Pyrex measuring cup). Sometimes it just overflows though without melting the ice.

Another possibility is to have two containers, and alternate putting one out and bringing the other into the house to thaw. Just have to be careful not to step in it if it's on the floor by the door.

Claire

I tried the idea, but so far the birds aren't going for it. You would think that since the temperature is in the teens, they would give the water a try.

I'll try it for a few days to see if they'll change their mind.

Paul

Paul: Did the birds eventually accept your bath? I'm thinking the reason my birds did was the fact that I put the styrofoam thing on top of the birdbath they were used to using in warmer weather. In fact, I put it there after I saw a few birds walking around on the ice on the birdbath looking for water.

My most successful unheated birdbath is still the old plastic plant saucer which I refill every day.

This is the saucer in use on December 15, 2008 when there was no snow.

This winter I put a circle of rocks around the saucer as a heat sink to slow down freezing. The rocks are now covered with snow so the saucer is partly hidden in this photo taken this morning with a cardinal visiting. You can see the pile of ice in the background - ice I stomp out each morning.

The heated birdbath is on the other side of the house so I like to give the birds (and squirrels) options.

Claire

Claire

I have not been successful at all. Keep in mind that I live next to a wetland, so bird bath is sort of redundant in the summer, but I thought a make shift water bath would work in the winter when everything is frozen.

I have tried using a terracotta saucer in the past (since plastic may be slippery to the birds). There were no takers so far. I guess with 1 foot of snow on the ground, they just eat snow.

Paul: Maybe the wetland has a spring or slow-running stream so the birds can get water there. Or sometimes I've noticed that the crows have smashed a hole in the ice to drink, which coincidentally helps the smaller birds.

This morning the temperature was around 9 degrees F, and the ice in the saucer was frozen to the bottom so that I couldn't stomp it out. I have a couple of smooth plastic bowls from Ocean State Job Lot ($1 each) that still seem to release ice so I put them out. along with one styrofoam. The smooth bowls are really too deep, but they're being used for drinking.

The heated birdbath is still working. These birds have me trained well.

Claire