Hi everyone. Bear with me - this is very long!
tabasco,
I have several birdbaths, none with drips or misters. They get non-stop activity all year long, but the two that see the most action are located under a young River Birch. I think the birds love the low branches which allow them to use it both as a "staging" point and a place to dry & preen their feathers.
One of the two has an integrated heater. It's one of those beige, plain-looking types, not at all esthetic, but the birds (& squirrels) love it. It was actually meant to be mounted on a deck, but instead, my husband mounted it on a pedestal from an old cast aluminum birdbath we weren't using. Perfect! It's so popular that we just remove the electrical cord when the weather warms up & leave it out all year. I have to refill it several times a day during warm weather.
Although all the good bird supply sites & stores carry them, they are fairly expensive through those sources. We got ours at Farm & Fleet & have seen them at Menard's for about $30.00 so I would check large farm stores & home centers first.
I have seen a mister called the "Cool Mist Stick" that I'm probably going to try. Supposedly Hummers love a fine mist. A local nursery here is selling them for $8.00. I've seen them online, but they're about $25.00! Visualize something that looks like a piece of stiffened rope that is coiled on the bottom & stands up (kind of like a Cobra, but about 30" tall) with a very fine mist spraying out at the top. They're not pretty - plastic tubes in colors like bright blue. They attach to a hose so you can place them where you want. I wouldn't want to run the hose all day, but occasionally, it might be fun to try. If you just want to see what they look like so you know what to look for, www.amazon.com has one. They use a different name, but the item # is: MC400. I would check local sources first since I'm sure you could get one much cheaper.
Another easy, virtually free, dripper I've seen & have been tempted to try is to hang a .5 liter water bottle or larger pop bottle overhead from a tree, shrub, shepard's hook, etc.. It can be either right-side-up or upside down - make a hole large enough to "drip" water. It's even better if it's hanging over a birdbath.
Obviously the above two water features are not meant to be "end-all" solutions, but they might be worth trying just to see if they bring in more birds.
If your birdbaths aren't getting much use, are they completely out in the open? Try putting one near a tree or other shrubbery (but not too close to a type that will hide predators). It might make the birds feel more secure.
Hope any of this helps. Sorry I couldn't offer any moving water features that I have personal experience with.
This message was edited May 7, 2010 10:44 AM
