I'd rather have a birdbath than a bird feeder.

And I always wash my hands after doing stuff in the yard - bird-carried germs like salmonella can be on more things than just a birdbath.

Birdbaths are great but they must be rinsed and refilled daily. i was also told by our local bird store to scrub and clean with a little bleach weekly during the hot summer months.. Just be mindful of algae and keep it clean

Here in the warm areas of SoCal, you will need to refill a regular-sized birdbath frequently due to evaporation and splash. If they use it for bathing at all---for years, multiple regular baths almost never got used for anything beyond a drink in my garden.

A bubble type fountain increased bathing activity, but I have found they are higher cleaning maintenance because they tend to have loose rocks and/or less accessible water basins.

By far the most popular and easiest to maintain water feature in our garden is an old multi-tier shell-shaped fountain. There is a sufficient amount of water to keep it functioning and to dilute pathogen levels, differing depths for variously sized and bravery-leveled birds, and it is easy to keep clean even though this one is under a tree canopy. A powerful hose stream does most of the work to remove the water (the sloped bowl shape helps here) and refill within a few minutes. If you can swing it, and have a power source for the small pump, a fountain would provide a lot more bird activity with a lower maintenance level. Ours gets visited all day long, and it isn't uncommon for a queue of waiting birds to form.

gyr_falcon,

I think just for drinking is even better. Rehydration is important so just drinking out f it is a win for me.

Would you care to share your birth bath (pictures)? I would love to get one made out of unglazed ceramic. Everything looks like its made out of concrete. I also like copper but want it to come with a coper pedestal because I like the victorian look not the modern copper ones I have been seeing.

I wonder if apple cider vinegar is just as effective as bleach for cleaning it.

I only have the PITA bubble fountain and the larger fountain in place and functioning right now, due to landscape renovations, just returning from a vacation and the current time of year (not much migration activity currently).

I have switched over various "bath" structures to ground feeders because many of the species prefer them ground level. I usually end up customizing stands, and often the bowls, when they are used higher. Wrought iron from something-else or inverted urn pots become pedestals; fancy plant saucers can become baths. I sometimes try out different things, locations and heights to see what the animals like--they can be surprisingly choosy. I learned long ago that pricy things that look pretty often go unused because they are often designed for appearance, but the birds dislike the smoothness, rim width, reflecting heat, or whatever.

I just use water and a scrub brush to clean when it is needed.

Thinking vinegar might have a detrimental effect on nearby plants/areas...?

I also think strong jet of water is adequate. I see birds drinking out of puddles in the street all the time, so I think a birdbath is a step up for them regardless of whether it's sanitized or not.

I have a small fountain on my balcony that the house

finches adore. Mostly drinking from it but also occasional bathing. It also attracts an odd dove trying to give some competition to the finches.

I get it, bird baths can spread diseases if not cleaned. I’ve had one with no issues by cleaning it weekly. Maybe a filtered model would help if you’re worried?

We have a bird bath. DH keeps it filled with fresh water and cleans it frequently (there is not a spigot close by and he saves me dragging a hose). A couple of robins or a black capped grosbeak motoring about in it can throw a surprising amount of water from it. We keep a pile of stones in the middle on the chance a smaller bird slides in and needs an easy way up and out. Not only do the deer drink from it, two years ago during an unusually hot stretch of coastal weather, we found the entire perimeter of the bowl lined with honey bees. I'm not young and I'd never seen that, didn't know that not only do they drink, they carry water back to their larvae in the hive.

Whoever was feeding crows somewhere in the neighborhood seems to have quit. I haven't found leftovers, bread or rolls in mine yet this year when it had been frequently.

I've been thinking about this lately. I used to try to keep a birdbath going most of the year. It became difficult once the spigots are shut off for the winter and I don't have a deck with an outlet to try to go for a heated birdbath. But I did have some mobility issues this year and keeping the birdbath filled was not possible. And really I've seen a lot fewer birds in the yard when no bird bath is out there.

Last week I saw a lot of robins descend on my Aronia and strip it. Usually they don't touch that before March. So I thought it's been a very cold winter and that might be the reason. So I've had the urge to start feeding and offering water all winter. This winter it's not possible but....maybe next winter.