Turn A Plastic Bucket Into A Fun & Playful Birdbath

If you're looking to attract robins, hummingbirds, finches, mockingbirds, or other feathered friends to your backyard, having a few DIY bird hacks up your sleeve can make a big difference. It doesn't need to be complicated, either. With a few simple tools and materials, you can have your garden brimming with birdlife. This is something the gardening and birdlife duo at Robbie and Gary Gardening Easy know a thing or two about. Their Instagram video showing how to create a charming DIY birdbath is a great example. Using a plastic bucket and a few products readily available at most local hardware stores, they created a recirculating ball birdbath that uses the power of solar.

What we love about this birdbath is that it taps into something that birds love — moving water. The ball is an important feature as it gives avian visitors purchase as they drink and clean themselves. For this affordable solar-powered birdbath, you'll need a few simple materials. First up, a plastic bucket will serve as the structural base while a solar fountain kit will recirculate the water. You'll also need an old plastic ball (about double the size of a pickleball will do) to use as a mold, some cement, a stick, and a large round plastic dish (wider than the diameter of the bucket). With an extra bit of creativity, you can create a DIY water feature for your garden that is both functional and a great aesthetic addition to the space.

While you may already have a plastic bucket and a dish at home, a quick trip to your local hardware store or garden center will get you stocked up with everything else you need. A more detailed YouTube video shows how Robbie cuts a large hole on one side of the ball and a smaller one on the opposite side and then fills it with cement. The stick running through the ball and poking out from each hole as the cement dries is an important step, as it creates a passage for the tubing. Robbie uses a papaya branch, but an old wooden spoon handle or wooden rod will work just as well. It just needs to be about the same diameter as the tubing. While you're waiting for the cement to dry, you can get the kids involved by using the bucket as a medium for their creativity. Give it a fun design like this one. 

Once the cement has dried and you've removed the ball mold and stick, you can go ahead and prepare the rest of your unique birdbath design. Poke one center hole in your plastic dish for the tubing and several smaller ones around it to allow the water to drain back into the bucket. Robbie uses a soldiering iron to make the holes, but a drill will also do quick work here. Just make sure you have a drill bit large enough to allow the tubing to pass through the center of the dish. Drop the pump into the bucket, place the dish on top, and feed the tubing from the pump through the dish and the ball. Add water, turn it on, and wait for the birds to flock in. It's a simple but effective bird bath for your yard!