Songbird EssentialsHeated Birdbath

I purchased this bird bath six years ago. I have neglected the wood, never once re-staining it. Weed whackers have left it all marked up. I don’t pour carefully in the winter (when it’s below zero I want to hurry up and get back inside), and when I scrape the ice off the wooden top, I sometimes really whack at it and gouge it. Essentially, I am not the ideal owner, yet this has somehow held up. It was out of stock for a while during the pandemic, but now it is back, and the time has come to replace it (I have neither the time nor tools to repair it). It’s pricier now, but what isn’t? I need a heatable bird bath that can be moved quickly and easily (ruling out heavy concrete models). This has done admirably, and I can buy replacement pans for it. The birds all love it, too. I just hope the quality is the same now as it was six years ago!

My 10 yr old grandson assembled this bird bath for me (with some guidance from his dad). The parts fit together well and the instructions were clear. Leveling the legs was a bit of trial-and-error, but not too frustrating. I appreciate the fact that it comes with a couple of ground stakes to help stabilize the unit as it doesn’t weight that much. The bowl is shallow which the birds really like (as you can see from photo), and holds about 32 oz. There is plenty of patio space for them to relax on while gossiping around the bath. The heating element has done a great job keeping the water from freezing even in blustery single digit temps. Daily cleaning is easy - I just pull out and empty plastic bowl, wipe down, and refill. Every couple days (or after being visited by starlings - they swarm in and leave it looking like the tail end of Woodstock), I wipe it down with vinegar to disinfect, rinse well and then refill. The simple natural design looks so nice in the garden. I don’t know how the wood will look in a couple of years, although other reviewers state theirs have held up quite well. All-in-all, I’m very pleased with this purchase.

First, it is very hard to find heated birdbaths that are sturdy and this is.That said, I had to have someone make it shorter as the turkeys cannot reach the water due to its height.Secondly, the worst part, the water container is very shallow, I was already worried about this when I bought it. The main issue is that it isn't just a bit too shallow, it is also for whatever reason, ROUNDED in the middle which is where the heating element is so there is not much water on there even when it is full.It has turned out that I have to fill this up several times a day and it still dries up in the middle. Why not make it flat at least if you have it so extremely shallow?I wouldn't recommend buying this as it barely holds any water and is impossible to keep full for too long due to its construction. It is not because birds are drinking the water, the water evaporates, and with only a few mm covering the middle where it is rounded up for some reason so water barely covers it, it is totally dry on that spot much too often.The problem is finding a better one. This could have been solved with the water container having a flat bottom but I guess that is hard to do or something?

The unit arrived and needed some assembly. No problem, looks easy enough. I pull out the wood ( I think it's cedar) and grab the instructions. DRAT! Hand drawn...confusing. I can figure it out by trial and error, it's hard to explain the legs, they don't automatically get screwed in at the same height so you have to do the best you can - tighten up everything later. I put the top in upside down...again...no worries, you can figure that part out.I had a place in the yard where I wanted to put this so that wild turkeys and dear could have access. So I take a Level, some brackets (like big staples) and I get it LEVEL! The bowl that comes with this really shallow. 1/2 inch at most so you want this level so you can keep as much water in it as possible. Okay, all set...need to plug it in. The cord off the bowl is about 6 inches long and it has to tuck through the pole but will only go in about 2inches where it will have to meet the extension cord. The only way to do that is to turn it upside down! Normally wouldn't be a problem, at least if there were some instructions of any worth. So I pull it out of it's locked down position, turn it upside down and stuff the extension cord up from the bottom all the way through the very top. plug it in and repeat the leveling and securing process.Added water... went inside and the next morning I awoke to a frozen bowl!! My solution? I bought this  API 650 Heated Bird Bath with Mounting Bracket . I threw their bowl away and this works beautifully. Yes, I paid twice but I was in a hurry to beat an Arctic front that was moving in. I'll post pics...Now I'm very pleased (with myself I suppose, more than their version). But that heater birdbath that I got from Amazon is amazing!

The rest of my review aside, after a year of use even through a rough winter, the birds and squirrels loved this. I did top coat it with some Ready Seal a couple of months ago as it was fading fast, but it looks brand new and is working great. Original review : The instructions say to screw it to your deck railing, or a 4x4 post, or to clamp it to your deck. Wrong model. Luckily, a reviewer included pictures for how to install the legs (hey, how about copying those and throwing them in the box along with these instructions for a different product?) but you just have to hope for the best with the top pieces. For this price, they could predrill not just the 6 loose pieces, but where they go on the post as well. Most reviews reference a learning curve with the assembly. If it weren't open and ready to be put together, I'd pack it up and send it back and get a different one elsewhere.