Goodbye Traditional Bird Baths: Use A Plastic Bottle To DIY One With Running Water

When it's sweltering outside and you know a bird bath on your patio would help your feathered friends cope with the heat, where do you start? While store-bought options might be your first thought, there's a DIY version you'd want to try out. YouTuber Robbie of @RobbieAndGaryGardeningEasy inspired us with her simple but ingenious idea for a DIY solar-powered bubbling bird bath you can put together in no time, even if you're a beginner DIYer. This is one of the easiest bird baths you can DIY from an old plastic bottle, some rocks, a short piece of plastic tubing, and an inexpensive solar-powered fountain pump kit like the AISITIN DIY Solar Water Pump Kit. You'll also need a hot glue gun and glue sticks, a soldering iron, scissors, a wooden dowel for the perch, and, of course, some water. Then, run to your garden and collect some decorative stones or find some beautiful river rocks.

The DIY birdbath you'll make checks all the boxes for the ideal dipping spot for your little backyard visitors. It's compact so it can fit in almost any location in your yard even if it's just a tiny balcony or patio. The material (plastic) won't overheat in the sun as is the case with metal baths. It's also shallow enough that even the littlest birdies can wade in while drinking or bathing without the fear of going under. Moreover, it's a unique bird bath design that adds instant delight to any yard thanks to the fountain effect of the water pump.

After gathering your supplies, your first task is to clean the plastic bottle, then use a marker to draw a straight horizontal line just below the shoulder of the bottle, about one-third of the way down from the top. Then cut the bottle along this line using the scissors. You should now have a large lower cylindrical piece and the funnel-shaped top piece. Carefully smooth the cut edges on each piece with your soldering iron to help prevent injury both when you're handling the bird bath and when birds land on it. Next, take the cap off and use the soldering iron to make holes in the funnel-shaped section so that when the pump fills it with water, it flows back into the reservoir through the holes.

Now it's time to put together all these plastic parts and the water pump to make the birdbath. But first, extend the solar pump's outlet so you can hide the pump at the bottom of the bottle while keeping the fountain visible at the top of the bird bath. To do so, connect your pump outlet to a plastic tubing a couple of inches long. The extension will also create the perfect water pressure for the bubbling of the bird bath while decreasing the water flow rate to prevent splatters.

We'll now assemble all the parts of this DIY birdbath. The cylindrical section of the bottle will be the base and the funnel inserted on top. But before adding the funnel, place the pump inside the cylinder to seat at the bottom and its outlet (with the tubing extension) protruding upwards. Now place the funnel-shaped insert with the bottle neck pointing downward so the pump outlet passes through it.

Next, cut out a tiny notch on the top edge of the large bottle section in a V shape. This is where the wire connecting the pump to the solar panel will pass through. Now just load up the funnel with rocks and fill up the birdbath with water. Lastly, take your soldering iron and make a hole near the top of the tubing and pass the small wooden dowel through to form a little perch for your feathered visitors. Place the solar panel where it faces the sun, and the pump will move water through the extension tube before it exits at the top, creating a gentle babbling fountain. That's it.

You can now try a few smart tips to keep your birdbath beautiful. Besides cleaning it and refreshing the water frequently, try jazzing it up by inserting faux aquarium plants into the bottom portion of the clear bottle to hide the pump and tubing. Experiment with different paint colors or wrap the exterior of the reservoir with decorative paper. And if you have a cute flower pot or vase you're not using, place your bird bath inside it to make it even prettier. Now sit back and enjoy watching those little birds as they come take a dip in this beautiful DIY birdbath.