Water Quality Month: The Importance Of Water For Birds

Water for birds is one of the most important factors in protecting their health, hygiene and overall survival. To acknowledge National Water Quality Month, this blog aims to offer everything you need to know about the importance of water for birds and how to use water to help wildlife.

Although Kennedy Wild Bird Food offers the highest quality bird seed and foods, with our main focus being what to feed birds, we understand the importance of water for birds.

Why Do Birds Need Water?

Birds need water for several reasons, predominately for drinking and bathing. Water is essential for birds all year round, we find that in winter, natural water sources freeze up and in summer, water can be difficult to find. Providing birds with a fresh, clean water source in your garden is a brilliant way of attracting them and keeping them clean and safe.

Although birds need less water than mammals due to them having no sweat glands, they still need water. As, with any creature, water is crucial for a bird’s survival.

Using water for bathing isn’t just so they look good, but also essential for their survival. Bathing allows birds to keep their feathers in good condition and well maintained. Sure this loosens the dirt and makes them look nicer, but it also makes feathers easier to preen.

Preening refers to the process of rearranging feathers and spreading oil from the preen gland in order to keep birds insulated and their feathers waterproof, thus a handy technique for survival. 

Water is also beneficial for birds to help them cool down. In hot and dry weather conditions, birds often dip in bird baths along their travels to stay cool and conserve energy.

Water Quality

This water quality month, we, at Kennedy want to offer top tips on how you can look after birds with water and the importance of maintaining its quality.

As explored, water is essential for birds’ health and survival, however, when water is of poor quality can actually do more harm than good. Choosing how you provide water can be critical to a bird's safety in your garden.

Water doesn’t only attract birds, but a whole variety of other species too. Birds, however, have the added benefit of being able to fly, so a raised bird bath or water source is beneficial to keep other pesky species away from the water. This poses benefits for your garden, as well as the birds who need to stay away from predators whilst they bathe and drink.

Good quality water is also crucial in order to keep diseases at bay and minimise the spread of illness between birds. In order to maintain water quality, you must keep water baths clean. Stagnant water is one of the most common causes of disease spread. Allowing water to stagnate and collect bacteria reduces the water quality, which in turn can sometimes cause fatal diseases to be contracted by birds drinking and bathing from it.

It’s important that if providing water to birds that you stay on top of maintaining it, removing debris, such as leaves and branches as well as keeping the bird bath or fountain clean is essential for the survival of your garden visitors.

Get In Touch

Although at Kennedy, we specialise in bird food, this Water Quality Month, we are working hard to offer the right advice to those who are offering an important source of water to birds. We value that access to water is absolutely critical to a bird's survival and so want to share insight into how exactly to help.

Take a look at our other blogs here for all advice on feeding and giving water to birds.

Want more information? If you’re looking for information relating to the importance of water for birds, let us know!

Give us a call today on 01778 342 665

Or email us at info@kennedywildbirdfood.co.uk for any questions you may have this National Water Quality Month.