We’re officially in the dog days of summer, but it’s not just canines who are feeling the heat. Animals everywhere are looking for ways to cool off, from elephants seeing out water holes to pigs looking to roll in the mud. Even the usually water-shy cats aren’t above playing in a fountain if it means cooling off. And of course, there’s the classic birdbath.
When most people put out a birdbath, they anticipate attracting some songbirds—a few robins, sparrows, or cardinals to enjoy a nice, refreshing soak. I doubt anyone has anticipated the arrival of a raptor—and certainly not a whole family of baby owlets. But that’s what the people in this video out of Baltimore got. Who knew owls liked to swim?
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“These young barred owls have captured our hearts since they adopted our backyard and birdbath,” reads the caption on this adorable video of a pair of fledgling barred owls taking turns fluffing their feathers in a tabletop birdbath. For resident Mary Beth Marsden, the sight of such splendid creatures makes all the trouble worth it. “I refill that birdbath like it’s my job,” she admits in the comments.
But, it turns out, refilling birdbaths is part of the gig.
Birdbath Sanitation
Birdbaths can be fancy contraptions with built-in fountains, or they can be a simple pan or tray in the corner of your yard, but there are ways to help it work for birds of all sizes. One of the most obvious is to clean and refresh the water in the birdbath regularly. The more often there is fresh, inviting water for birds to use, the more often birds will come into your yard to use it. Clean and refill your birdbath daily. You can make it part of your garden-watering routine or even set your birdbath in a place where it will regularly be replenished by your sprinkle system.
Keep an eye on the birdbath, too. If it is looking grungy or visited by birds that look sickly, take the opportunity to scrub it out. Not cleaning bird baths or bird feeders can lead to spreading diseases.
Birdbaths and Barred Owls
You learn something new every day. Apparently, though we don’t often see it, barred owls are huge fans of baths, which only furthers speculation that owls are just the avian version of cats.
“Barred Owls bathe every day,” says someone in the comments section. “They rely on their bath to get rid of any pests they may pick up hunting and eating their prey.”
Makes sense to me!
Though they first leave the nest a mere month after hatching, barred owl fledglings stay with their parents for up to six months, which is longer than most owl species. The family here must live nearby to be visiting this birdbath daily, but then again, barred owls like nesting near bodies of water, as they eat small fish and amphibians.
And apparently, go for a regular dip themselves.
The barred owl’s range is widespread and only getting wider. They are found all over the eastern half of the United States and are even encroaching on the habitat of the spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest. Their only known predator is the great-horned owl. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently proposed a culling of half a million of these barred owls in the Pacific Northwest, in an attempt to preserve the endangered, spotted species. This plan was widely criticized by environmental and animal welfare groups.