Turn Old Casserole Lids Into The Cutest, Hanging Bird Baths

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If you've ever witnessed a bird cooling off in a puddle, it looks like it's having the time of its life. Its fluttering wings splash water all around, like a child playing in a rain puddle. While the behavior may appear whimsical, access to clean water is vital to wild bird health, especially on hot summer days. Birds don't have sweat glands, so they use baths or puddles to cool off. If you want to observe this behavior firsthand, you can repurpose a glass casserole lid as a hanging bird bath. Your feathered backyard visitors will thank you.

Baths help birds replenish the water they lose through evaporation, serve as a source of drinking water, and give them somewhere to get clean. Just like with us humans, bathing washes away dirt and germs, keeping a bird's feathers primed for flight and insulating them against inclement weather. Since many adult songbirds replace their feathers just once a year, they need to keep their existing feathers in optimal shape.

While you can use other items from your kitchen or tool shed to make a bird bath — like turning an old Bundt pan into a cute bird bath that backyard visitors will love — using a heavy glass casserole dish lid is arguably a superior choice. A bird bath should be no deeper than 2 inches, so the lid's shallow depth makes it ideal for this purpose. Plus, glass is easy to keep clean. Aside from the lid, you'll also need a roll of Linhomguy Stainless Steel Chain and a Bnyzwot Heavy-Duty Chain Hook Quick Link or a Sprookber Stainless Steel Spring Snap Hook Carabiner.

This bird bath couldn't be simpler to construct. Using bolt cutters, cut a length of medium-weight steel chain that's slightly longer than the circumference of the lid's knob. Connect the ends with a steel S-hook or strong wire. Turn the lid right side up on your worktable and place this loop around the knob. Next, cut four equal lengths of chain and, again, use S-hooks or wire to attach one end of each length to the loop you just created, spacing them equidistantly around the loop. Gather the unconnected ends of the four lengths of chain into a sturdy clip, which you'll also use to hang the finished bird bath.

Hang the bird bath somewhere shady to keep the water at a comfortable temperature and reduce algae growth. Adding pebbles will give the birds something to grip while bathing. The sound of running water from a Mademax Solar Bird Bath Fountain may attract more birds, too. There are also some crucial things to consider before DIYing a bird bath for your yard. For example, you need to make sure you have the time to clean and maintain it; a dirty bird bath can harm backyard birds. Maintenance involves refilling the water every other day and removing feathers, debris, and insects at the same time. You should avoid using cleaning products on your bird bath, since the the harsh chemicals can strip away the birds' natural oils. Stick to a weekly scrubbing with a solution made of 9 parts water and 1 part vinegar.