Shannon

Welcome to WildTexas.com, Kay and Rocky. I wish I could provide more guidance, but our bird bath is quite basic -- it's a "mock" concrete bird bath -- a heavy grade plastic with a concrete texture and weights (sand, I think) in the base of the basin and stand. I fill the bath periodically with fresh water, and to be honest, do not scrub out or kill the algae regularly -- it doesn't get that bad. However, we just had to cut down the tree that shaded the bath, so the algae growth is likely to become a problem for us now, too!

We have a basic drip feeder that I use periodically, but it too is nothing fancy -- it's attached with a "Y" adapter to our water nozzle, and when turned on, we can divert the water from the hose to the dripper. The dripper line has its own control knob that controls the rate of drip. We purchased the dripper 3 years ago at a Wild Birds Center here in San Antonio. I don't recall the price, but it's held up to the elements and use. We don't use it in the winter. The only problem with it is if the drip rate exceeds the evaporation and water birds splash out of the feeder, we waste a little water as it drips over the lip of the bath and into our yard. We "solved" that problem by placing the bird bath in a relatively drought-prone area of our yard, so the excess water actually serves a purpose (preventing our grass from dying out there).

Periodically -- maybe once every 2-3 months -- I blast high pressure water into the basin and, if needed, scrub it with an old toothbrush, but I do not use any soap or other additives.

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- Shannon Moore
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