Water Disappearing From Birdbath

[naomi24]

It seems to be soaking into the stone. Is there anything harmless to wild birds that we can paint it with to stop the water disappearing? Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Hypognosis]

Stone isn't noted for its absorbent qualities, Nomes. Has to be a hairline crack.

OR - you've had a starling flock drop by, when you weren't looking and they've sprayed the water everywhere.

[pusskin]

Our bird bath is empty every morning we come downstairs. We've caught pidgeons, and sparrows etc splashing about like mad to enjoy their baths.
Very funny when you see pidgeons splashing around in our smallish ornamental pond too, with water everywhere.

[Robinia]

I agree about the crack(s), it happened to mine so I bought a new one and I just have the cracked one as an ornament now. Sometimes I put food that will be taken quickly on it.
Let it completely dry out and you might be able to see where the problem is.

I don't know how well this works
http://www.gardensite.co.uk/Aquatics/Pond_Pride_Just_Fix_It.htm

[naomi24]

I can't see a crack in it. It's new.

[Robinia]

In that case it could be as pusskin says, the birds are flapping it all away.
Cats or wildlife might be drinking it, foxes for example.
It might be evaporating in the sun/wind.
It's just not fit for purpose, you need to have a word with the seller. Sealant paints can be expensive.
Have you had one before?

[naomi24]

Yes, we've had a birdbath before. I think I'll do as you say and have a word with the shop we bought it from.

Thanks all.

[Clanad]

Try finding some stones about fist size (depending on the depth of your birdbath) and place a few of them in the birdbath followed by refilling. We've had encounters with Black Grackles here in the western U.S. and they soon emptied our garden bath which holds around 1 1/2 gallons of water.

A neighbor suggested the rock trick since it divides the bottom into smaller segments which still let small birds bath but keeps out the big ones… if that's the problem. Can't hurt in your situation...

[Clanad]

Our troublesome species seen here:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/id

[Prudie]

We had that with ours and it was a hairline crack that we really couldn't see. We painted the inside with garage floor paint and it did the trick - however i wouldn't accept that on a new one.

[ladybirder]

I also have to fill mine almost every day and sometimes twice a day. I have seen a blackbird sit in it, flap about a bit, preen itself, have a poo and then a drink before flying off. Same with collared doves. The result is usually an empty bath sometimes within minutes of filling it but I just love to watch them, makes my day.

[Chipchopper]

A friend gave me a home made birdbath which had been cast in cement from a plastic household bowl.
first thing I did was buy a plastic bowl of the, same size and cut it down to the same depth of approx 3 inches.
Next I gathered some pebles from around the garden, completely hiding the bowl.
Although its waterproof, it still requires refilling with water occasionally, due to evaporation and bird bathing, I consider this a good thing, as it allows me to add some clean, fresh water to get rid the woodpigeon droppings that can contaminate it.

[wildwood]

It does appear to be that the birds appreciate your birdbath.

If you suspect there may be a crack, there are heaps of silicone sealants in a spray can that will fix that in seconds - just make sure of the drying/curing time for safety of the water.

[Tilly2]

Just keep filling it, Naomi. We refill ours at least twice a day. The starlings are the culprits.

[naomi24]

Hard to believe that the birds are emptying it, but we have absolute hoards of swallows/swifts (we call them swafts) here as well as all the other birds so I'll do a bit of detective work... keep a closer eye on it and see what happens. Thank you very much for all the advice.

[woofgang]

I had a ceramic solar fountain by my front door and have had to remove it as something empties it every night which mans that the pump runs on empty which will destroy it. I though the bowl had a crack in it but indoors when I filled the bowl to test it, it remained full, also the the bowl still rings when tapped so no crack.

[woofgang]

PS I still have water available for wildlife elsewhere!