Goodbye Traditional Bird Baths — Reuse A Storage Find For A DIY Alternative

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As beautiful and practical as traditional bird baths can be, they can also be pricey. While some designs cost under $20, carved stone or ornate designs can be hundreds of dollars. Regardless of your budget, you shouldn't have to spend money to set up a bird bath in your yard. If you have an unused plant shelf, side table, or utility cart hanging around your home, you already have the basic building blocks to throw the neighborhood birds a pool party. In the r/birding subreddit, a user by the name of CosyBosyCrochet shared how they accidentally created an incredible DIY bird bath simply by leaving a shelf with raised edges outside. Rainwater accumulated, and feathery friends soon started showing up.

If anything, this example proves that birds don't care how much you spend; if there's a shallow basin of water with room enough to bathe, they're happy. It's important to note that the shelf's design is what ultimately produced the accidental watering hole. Without the raised sides of the tabletop and the non-porous, flat surface, there wouldn't be a bird bath to speak of. However, that's not to say that a slatted shoe rack or open-edged side table wouldn't work. You just need a few add-ons. 

If you love the style and appearance of the Reddit user's shelf-turned-bird-bath, there are plenty of similar options online. This Ikea plant stand is under $30 and virtually identical in its elongated, oval shape that allows multiple small birds to bathe at once. The enclosed tabletop is short enough that you would only need to add a layer of gravel or landscaping rocks and up to 2 inches of water at most. This will help attract more birds by providing them with a grippable bottom and shallow water in which to bathe. If you have a small table or plant shelf that doesn't have raised edges to hold water, you can always add inexpensive drip trays, like these rectangular plant saucers from Amazon. Secure them to the tabletop using an outdoor, weatherproof glue or anchor them in place with larger stones and pebbles.

When setting up your DIY bird bath, pick a spot that's flat to prevent water loss and keep the structure from tipping over. Use a level to ensure it's not resting at an angle. You can always add paving stones or wooden slabs to the ground to help even the base. For repurposed storage shelves that have two or more tiers, designate the topmost levels for the bird baths, and place potted plants on the bottom that don't mind a bit of extra shade. You may also want to experiment with a bird bath on the bottom level for larger birds that enjoy ground-level bathing.