The Automatic Bird Bath

I recently furnished the bird bath with an adjustable dripper and an automatic flush feature. The sound of the dripper attracts the birds to the birdbath, and the dripper also refills it when a large bird half-empties the bird bath when he takes a bath. A small valve on the 1/4-inch drip hose adjusts the drip rate. A 3/4-inch ('garden') hose is used to flush debris that falls from the trees and stuff that the birds leave in the bird bath. (Drowned worms, for example.) Below is a pictorial explanation of how it was constructed.

Here's a closeup of the bird bath. A steel strap 1 inch wide and about 10 inches long, bent at its center on an angle holds the flush hose in place. U-bolts U1 and U2 fasten the steel strap to the vertical post (shepherd's crook) alongside the bird bath. U-bolts U3 and U4 fasten the steel strap to the flush hose, holding it at a slightly downward angle. Clamp C, made from a length of steel strap bent in half, flattens the cut end of the flush hose, causing the water to exit in a fan shape that 'sweeps' the bottom of the bird-bath bowl.
The drip hose is fastened to the vertical post by black plastic tape. The valve V adjusts the drip rate. About 15 inches of the end of the drip hose D is wrapped in wire so that it can be bent to the desired shape. Actually, the wire was wrapped on a dowel, pulled off, and the drip hose pushed into the wire spiral.

Here's the water controls for the bird bath. The dripper line and garden hose run underground from here across the lawn to the bird bath.
The hose at the top comes from a faucet underneath the deck. A 'Y' connector with two valves divides the water flow to the timer on the left and the pressure reducer on the right. After the pressure reducer, there's an adapter that fits the 1/4-inch drip line. In the connection between the pressure reducer and the adapter is a 10 GPH (the smallest I could find) flow-control button.
The timer is set for one minute at 10 pm. One minute is the shortest that the timer can do, and plenty of flush time. The 10 pm setting is to avoid frightening a bird to death, and allows time for the dripper to refill the bird bath during the night.

Here's some details on the hardware. The 1" x 10" strap must be bent at its midpoint on an angle so that the hose can go past the post. I put the strap in a vise on an angle and hit it with a hammer near the bending point.
The threads on my U-bolts weren't long enough to tighten onto the post, so I put a strip of wood between the strap and the post.
Bend the shorter strap in half, so that there is a gap of about 1/2 inch between the two sides of the strap. Fit it over the cut end of the garden hose, and tighten it with a nut and bolt through the holes.

The bird bath still needs a scrubbing once every one or two weeks, but it does take good care of the birds while we are off on vacation.

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	Here's a closeup of the bird bath. A steel strap 1 inch wide and about 10 inches long, bent at its center on an angle holds the flush hose in place. U-bolts U1 and U2 fasten the steel strap to the vertical post (shepherd's crook) alongside the bird bath. U-bolts U3 and U4 fasten the steel strap to the flush hose, holding it at a slightly downward angle. Clamp C, made from a length of steel strap bent in half, flattens the cut end of the flush hose, causing the water to exit in a fan shape that 'sweeps' the bottom of the bird-bath bowl. The drip hose is fastened to the vertical post by black plastic tape. The valve V adjusts the drip rate. About 15 inches of the end of the drip hose D is wrapped in wire so that it can be bent to the desired shape. Actually, the wire was wrapped on a dowel, pulled off, and the drip hose pushed into the wire spiral.
	Here's the water controls for the bird bath. The dripper line and garden hose run underground from here across the lawn to the bird bath. The hose at the top comes from a faucet underneath the deck. A 'Y' connector with two valves divides the water flow to the timer on the left and the pressure reducer on the right. After the pressure reducer, there's an adapter that fits the 1/4-inch drip line. In the connection between the pressure reducer and the adapter is a 10 GPH (the smallest I could find) flow-control button. The timer is set for one minute at 10 pm. One minute is the shortest that the timer can do, and plenty of flush time. The 10 pm setting is to avoid frightening a bird to death, and allows time for the dripper to refill the bird bath during the night.
	Here's some details on the hardware. The 1" x 10" strap must be bent at its midpoint on an angle so that the hose can go past the post. I put the strap in a vise on an angle and hit it with a hammer near the bending point. The threads on my U-bolts weren't long enough to tighten onto the post, so I put a strip of wood between the strap and the post. Bend the shorter strap in half, so that there is a gap of about 1/2 inch between the two sides of the strap. Fit it over the cut end of the garden hose, and tighten it with a nut and bolt through the holes.