Bob Cooper caught this fantastic set of pictures of a swan bathing the other day:
Aren't they fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing Bob!
Water to bathe in is important for birds, especially in winter. It is essential that they keep their feathers in good condition. Bathing is an important part of feather maintenance. Dampening the feathers loosens the dirt and makes their feathers easier to preen.When preening, birds carefully rearrange the feathers and spread oil from the preen gland so they remain waterproof and trap an insulating layer of air underneath to keep them warm.
It's not just the wildfowl that need water - the birds in your garden need to bathe (and drink from) too... By providing a bird bath in your garden (you can always check out some of the stock we have in the shop here at Rainham or online) you will help these birds keep themselves clean. It is important to keep any bird baths clean to prevent birds catching diseases.
You should clean your birdbath regularly and change the water. A layer of algae, dead leaves or bird droppings will soon build up, so give the bath a thorough clean every week or so. Scrub the sides and bottom to remove algae and other dirt.You can use dilute household disinfectants, but make sure that you rinse the bath out thoroughly to remove any traces of chemicals.There are two non-toxic products on the market, Enviroclens and Ark-Klens, which can be used to clean bird baths.
There is lots of advice to help your garden birds on the RSPB 's "How you can help birds" section.