How to Build A Hummingbird Pedestal Bird Bath

Hummingbirds can create a beautiful ambiance to your garden.

Whether you live in the country, or you have a garden oasis at your house, the presence of hummingbirds will be a constant factor. The buzzing of their delicate wings is a whimsical sight from your balcony. Hummingbirds are not harmful and, therefore, they shouldn't be treated as pests. Instead, welcome them by building a pedestal bird bath where they can refresh their feathers from the hot weather.

Things You'll Need

• Bowl
• Sand
• 2 Plastic sheets or bags
• 60 pounds premixed concrete
• Plastic tub
• 2 Small paper cups
• Vegetable oil
• 4 inch diameter mailing tube
• Chicken wire flat
• Hardware cloth

Instructions

1. Pile some sand in the shape of an inverted bowl. Dampen the sand so that it solidifies and gets to hold the shape. Cover the sand pile with a sheet of plastic.

2. Mix up some concrete in a plastic tub. The concrete can't be overly wet, so be careful.

3. Grab a handful of concrete and form it into a 4 or 5 inch diameter ball. Place the ball at the top of the sand pile, on top of the plastic, and pat it until it becomes flat. Cover the concrete with hardware cloth. Keep the hardware cloth about 1/2 inch back from the edge of the bowl.

4. Form the peg of the birdbath bowl with a small paper cup. Taper the cup (it has to be wider at the top than the bottom). Coat the inside of the cup with vegetable oil. Fill the cup with concrete and place it upside down on top of the bowl.

5. Cut the 4 inch diameter mailing tube off to the desired height of the pedestal. Fill it about half full of concrete. Place chicken wire flat around the bottom of the base of the mailing tube and pack some concrete around the bottom of the tube. The chicken wire flat reinforces the concrete.

6. Wrap hardware cloth around the outside of the tube. Fill the space between the hardware cloth and the mailing tube with concrete.

7. Make an identical paper cup to the one you used earlier. Fill this one with sand and place it inside the top of the mailing tube. Fill around the sides of the cup with concrete. Cover everything with a large plastic sheet and let it dry for two days.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy pre-mixed concrete. This way, you won't have to do anything else than mixing water in it.

• Make sure you don't add too much water on the concrete or it will lose its strength.

• Some people like to paste glass beads onto the side of their creation as an ornament. However, this could be dangerous since birds could mistake the glass beads for food and will nibble on them or worse, swallow them.

References

• DIYStuff.com: How to Make a Concrete Bird Bath