​Some of you have noticed that over the last couple of months our railing birdbath has changed significantly.  We went through most of 2018 with the, “First Version,” shallow adobe railing birdbath, purchased by my daughter for Mother's Day 2018.  This birdbath is excellent, and I highly recommend it for most railings.  

Due to my data collection, count, and scrutiny of the birds, our feeders and birdbath are grouped together, rather than being scattered throughout the yard and at time see a lot of traffic.  At one point, we had nine Doves, seven Blue Jays, and three Grackles, all of whom visit the birdbath every day (I will explain this in another blog later) as well as other birds that visit albeit with less frequency.  Now, many of “our” fledglings are making their way out into the world but I was still having to extensively wipe out and completely change out the water in the birdbath daily, sometimes twice a day! 

I determined I needed something that would:
1) Filter the water so it would be cleaner and need to be changed less often. 
2) HOLD more water but would still only allow the birds to stand in only very shallow water.  Note: BIRDBATHS SHOULD ONLY BE AT THE MOST 2 INCHES DEEP. 

Second Version:
First, I took an old flowerpot and filled in the bottom drainage holes with liquid Flex Seal.  Next, I purchased a small outdoor pond pump and placed it in the bottom of the pot.  I took the old adobe colored bird bath and flipped it upside on top of the pump (like a plateau).  I put river-rock on this “shelf.”  The old bird bath is not so tight that water cannot flow back down to the pump, but I also cut a hole for a tiny little bit of water to bubble up.  Last, I cut a hole in the side of the pot, fed the cord through it, and placed waterproof tape to hold in in place and plug any leak.  I should have used the liquid flex seal, but I was worried that if the pump went kaput I would be hard to fix or change out.  This is where I made my mistake.  I should have just set the pump inside and fed the cord over the side.  Note: I did not do this originally because birds are on the lookout for snakes.  (It is always good to be cognizant of this fact when you put any cords or hoses around the feeders.  Try to hide the cords or use cord colors that won’t be mistaken for a snake.)  Nonetheless, the Flex Seal held the drainage holes so they did not leak but the Waterproof tape did not hold (I think it was also pulled at by either the birds or Mama Squirrel) so after a while, when I was filled past a certain point it leaked.   Additionally, the pot surface was not very easy to clean thoroughly; though, the pump DID help to filter out the debris.

Third Version:
In order to making cleaning easier, I ordered a stainless-steel bowl.  Upon its arrival, I followed the same process as in the Second Version: placed the pump on the bottom, flipped over first birdbath, and added the river-rock.  This time I fed the cord over the side and covered it with rock. I placed the whole contraption on the corner of the two railings.  Next, I took the round bracket and railing clamp (that came with the first birdbath) and set the clamp at the eight o’clock position on the bowl but added another clamp at the two o’clock position for more stability (ie it’s held on both sides).  At some point in the future, I will create a wooden holder, to match the flower boxes, that fits over both railings and has a hole for the bowl.  I think this will better hold it in place; especially, if any bird larger than the grackle desires to stop and drink or bath.  

The old version worked great but didn’t meet all our needs.  The new version works great but without aspects of the old version would not have been enough to meet all the needs.  Sometimes in life we are going along and doing just fine, but we realize we need to change something.  The tendency is to go to the other extreme and radically change.  With this project, I can clearly see that often change might just mean a merging of the old and new.   When these are merged, they become a great totally custom mechanism that meets a need God knows about perfectly.  Any change is hard.  I tend to cling to old because it is comfortable, known, and I think it works fine.  See, I think.  God sees everything and he sees way down the road.  Other times, in my frustration I enthusiastically abandon the old for the new because it is shiny, cool, holds more, and must be the way cause everyone is using it!  God taught me through this project that often-adapting parts of the old, merging them with parts of the new, can subsequently result in a beautiful mechanism that meets all the needs so much better!  My job is to be open to how God leads, without question.  After all, my glorious Creator always knows best!






update
***After our blog,  there was a bird publication that stated in their article about birdbaths that, "You should not use metal for a birdbath because it gets too hot."   We are not sure what metal they referred to in the piece. 

The water does not get too hot.  The depth of the water  inside our birdbath is what helps our water stay a nice temperature.  This depth would normally  not be appropriate  for a birdbath because the birds would drown.  In ours this is not the case.  The pump is covered with an upside   "plate" with a hole in the middle. Then that plate is covered all the way up to the top with river rock.  The final  bath is only about 1-2 inches deep.   We have tested it and it is not as hot as  the pavement below.  This may also be due to the fact that the  birdbath  only gets direct afternoon late sun. 

Our bird bath base is a stainless steel bowl.  This was chosen because our modern style house  has NUMEROUS stainless steel railings on all of the porches.    The birds sit on those constantly.  Again, I am not sure what "metal" is referred to in the article but the stainless steel bowl that is the base for the birdbath, the stainless steel railings  we have around our house, and the steel shepherd hooks that we have and many others  doesn't seem to be an issue for our birds.     They perch constantly and it does not appear to adversely affect them.   

If you have watched birds for any amount of time you have probably heard one or more birds sound an alarm call. My “nerd” question was can birds talk to each other?  Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case completely.  Birds do seem to recognize the alarm calls or attack calls from other birds​ but not the intricacies of all the various bird languages.  Maybe a good example is my own deficiencies in languages other than my own.  I have a very rudimentary understanding of Spanish and only a slightly more advance grasp of Italian (think pre-school to K5).  So on trips to Italy and Mexico respectively (usually by the end of the trip) I can clumsily get directions, find out the price of something, locate the bathroom, remark on the weather, time or day etc.; however, if a native speaker gets the impression I can speak the language and begins to attempt to chat with me rapidly, I am in the dark completely.  Similarly, birds of different families DO seem to recognize the alarm call and maybe a couple of other calls (The female birds show distress if any of the baby birds call even a baby bird that is not their own) but not the complete vocal range of various other birds’ songs.   In other words, A Dove does not recognize nor is there a need to recognize the mating call of the Blue Jay, but it does recognize a Blue Jay’s alarm call.

 So, if they understand the alarm call will they also come to help?  Yes, we know that birds of the same family will come to ​help each other.  This is called mobbing.  Mobbing is when birds will vocally (often) and physically band or mob up together and “attack” fly at a predator in order to drive him or her off and away from the nests/territory.  This behavior may also serve to teach the younger birds to learn WHO are the actual predators.  In our backyard, at the beginning of the nesting season, a mated pair of crows moved in across the street.  Crows are not my favorite and I was initially not pleased (God had to teach me to overcome my anti-crow feelings stemming from my full-blooded Cherokee great grandma), but I was trying to stay open minded.  Soon there were no longer two crows but three, one considerably smaller than the other two.

 One evening while Abby and I were watching a movie inside, an adult-Shinned Hawk dropped smack dab into the tree right outside my window ie right in front of the feeders.  We took the pictures but since Sharpies are known for feeding mainly on small birds, we were not pleased. A few days later, we heard a repeated crescendo of squawking outside the same window and we “flew” over to see what was wrong.  A crow was flying toward the house and squawking loudly at the same time.  The feeder birds scattered and a split-second later the Sharpie swooped over the top of the house and on a collision course with the crow.  The crow maintained her course and when they were going to collide the hawk veered off under the crow (side “nerd” question, why is that called playing chicken?  Shouldn’t it be called playing crow?)  Next, the crow made a mid-air U-turn (quite impressive maneuver) and began following the hawk.  At the same time another crow was rapidly approaching on an intersecting path toward the hawk.  The hawk took evasive flying measures to avoid the intersecting crow and continued a rapid course away from the house. We were relieved.  The one crow set off the alarm and the other crow responded.  So, the crows helped each other, and the rest of the feeder birds were helped in kind.

 Some days later, during a normally very quiet part of a stifling hot afternoon, there was a great cacophony of multiple bird voices from outside.  Grabbing the closest recording device (her iPhone) my daughter ran outside and recorded a video.  In this video below you can hear Crows, Starlings, Blue Jays and Grackles and at least one other type of bird sounding the alarm. Of the ones we remember only the Jays and Crows share the same family.  At twelve seconds, a flash is seen, after which a bird lands on the chimney of the house across the road and Abby zooms in closer.  The bird is again the Sharpie.  She is there as well as much tinier birds following it and subsequently dive-bombing it. So, mobbing is not exclusive to birds of the same family but in some instances whether vocally or physically they mob to drive off a shared predator.  The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

God enabled these magnificent creatures to know and understand a lesson that humankind can’t always seem to grasp.  When we share a common goal, we should not waste time and energy focusing on each other’s differences. How odd would it have been for the different birds to start arguing among each other?  That behavior would have surely provided an opportunity where, while they were distracted, their enemy could attack.   If only we would focus on how we are alike or at the very least focus on accomplishing whatever shared goal has brought us together.   After all, at the end of the day a Blue Jay is still a Blue Jay and a Starling is still a Starling; but, the community as a whole is stronger and safer.