Dropped $60 on a heated bird bath and now my finches won't leave

I bought this big plastic heated bird bath from Tractor Supply about 3 weeks ago because our water dish kept freezing solid at night. Honestly, I was worried the heater would be too loud or something, but it's dead quiet and my goldfinches have been fighting over it every morning. Has anyone else tried one of these and noticed their birds get super possessive over the water?

2 comments

2 Comments

val22316d ago

Same thing here. Got the same one from Tractor Supply last month and my chickadees act like it's the only water source in the county. They'll sit on the rim and spread their wings to block other birds from landing. It's almost funny to watch how fast they swoop in once the heater kicks on in the morning. The quiet part surprised me too. I was expecting some hum or buzz but it's completely silent, which is nice because my window is right there. One thing I noticed though, you gotta clean the dish every few days or the heater can build up some slime on the plastic. That's the only downside so far. Honestly, the $60 felt steep at first, but seeing them use it every single day made it worth it.

oliver52315d ago

Actually I gotta say, the slime buildup is more about the type of dish material than the heater itself. I had the same issue with a plastic one but switched to a ceramic glazed dish and it barely gets anything on it now. The plastic just holds onto that gunk way worse, especially if you're running the heater a lot. Also, I'd be a little careful about that territorial behavior with the chickadees. They're doing that wing spread thing because they think it's their personal bath, but they'll actually run the risk of overheating if they sit too long on a heated rim. Seen a couple of them get droopy after a long soak in mine. Just something to watch for.