This Deck-mounted Heated Bird Bath with an Outdoor Cord Connector is available from BestNest. This model of heated bird bath from Songbird Essentials has a frame and post made of long-lasting Western Red Cedar.

Providing fresh water for birds in your yard, business, or school will attract the best variety of birds for you to enjoy during any season. As fall temperatures become cooler and cooler, birders in northern latitudes and mountain landscapes are reminded that it’s time to think about how to keep ice-free fresh water for birds at our bird baths and other water features. Actually, it’s pretty simple, and it’s an important part of providing a top-notch feeding station where freezing temperatures are part of the late fall and winter climate.

Your best bet to effectively provide ice-free water for birds is to use a bird bath with a built-in electric heater. The heating element is built into the bird bath’s construction, providing 60 or 75 watts of power, and it is thermostatically controlled to reduce the use of electricity while they keep water ice-free during cold snaps and even during extremes of below zero weather. The heater only warms the water enough to keep it from freezing – the water is still quite cold – and it’s also important to point out that these all-in-one electrically heated bird baths can be used during all 4 seasons – just unplug the electric cord during ice-free months.

Of course, there are safety factors to keep in mind any time electricity and water are combined (water in the form of rain, ice, and snow), but there is an excellent safety feature to utilize – a safety cord connector. A “safety cord connector,” which is sometimes referred to as a “cord shield,” ensures your outdoor electrical plugs are enclosed in a water-tight case; and these connectors also ensure the 2 electric plugs stay safely linked and don’t pull apart.

When shopping for a heated bird bath, it’s best to choose one that’s mounted on a pedestal or that can be attached to a deck or post. We don’t suggest ground-based bird baths because it’s too easy for a feral cat to access visiting birds; and an elevated bird bath also provides a better view for you to see all the avian action.

We also don’t suggest using an external heater or de-icer; although if they work for you, we wouldn’t argue that option. If you use an external heater it’s important to use a bird bath basin that is made of ceramic, clay, or an appropriate resin-based bowl that can withstand the effects of the external heater. There is also the safety factor that an external heater can be pulled out of the bird bath, so consider these concerns.

Heated Bird Bath Options

There are a variety of pedestal and deck-mounted bird baths on the market, and we found that

BestNest, Duncraft, and Songbird Essentials all offer a selection of electrically heated bird baths for you to choose from.

Songbird Essentials offers a choice between different pedestal and deck-mounted bird baths at Songbird Essentials

At Duncraft, you can choose from quite a collection of pedestal and deck-mounted bird baths at Search: 41 results found for "heated bird bath" – Duncraft

BestNest also offers a fine variety of heated bird baths, and some of these bird baths offer longer electric cords and safety connectors to protect cord connections; see Heated Bird Baths at BestNest.com!

Safe Electric Connectors too – With winter rain, snow, and melting snow and ice a consideration when using electric cords and connecting extension cords, there is a safety element to consider. To ensure your outdoor electrical connections remain water-tight and safely linked, refer to a Watertight Cord Connector at Farm Innovators Watertight Cord Connector, Industrial Orange at BestNest.com or a ClickSheild Cord Lock from Duncraft at ClickShield™ Cord Lock – Duncraft

If you already use a heated bird bath as part of your feeding station or as a landscaping element in your yard, you know the value of this product as a bird magnet and as an important benefit for birds during freezing weather. If you are about to add a heated bird bath to your yard, you will appreciate how this new element adds appreciably to your backyard birding enjoyment.

Share your backyard birding experiences and photos with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com