|
Moderately recommend this product: The clamp to hold the bowl to the deck rail bends if tightened securely (I am in a high wind area and need to clamp it tightly). Maybe birds like to bath closer to the ground (mine is located on a second floor deck with a roof over it). This leads to inadvertent spilling of water, the bowl falling to the ground, etc.
The tilt process leaves something to be desired. That is, few birds use it (after a month in place). When it bends, it holds less well.
There is also something about the birdbath that isn't right. The tilt bar slips into a slot on the base/clamping bracket. It is not a secured connection, and the tilt bar can come out of the slot if one is not careful.
Perhaps it is too deep, but things don't improve when I fill it partially. Maybe birds don't like to bath under a roof (but they come to bird feeders also located on this porch).It is light in weight (a good thing), a sturdy bowl and easy to install.
The supplied birdbath mount is not the sturdiest (mounted on 2x6); I have a small, flat rock on each side of the bracket to make the birdbath mounting solid, otherwise it won't stay level. Since then the birds love it. In the winter I use a 50 watt K&H Ice Eliminator (heater) $20.82 from Amaxon, which also works great. I have had this deck mounted birdbath for 3 years and it has held up very well to the elements. 1 inch high for each side of the bracket to make this set-up work great. I think the deep dish design would really scare these birds.If mounting on a 2x4 the "rock trick" would still steady the mounting--between the mounting and the two rocks, the birdbath would be "rock-solid." It took the birds a month or so to come to the birdbath--I almost returned it thinking it was a poor design.
Some small birds already have a problem getting up the courage to wade into the current design due to fear of the water depth.
Using the rocks to steady the mount is no big deal to me--the bracket itself is simply not adequate for the job.
It's not unusual for me to have a Robin (they love water), bluejay, goldfinch, and then catbird (also love water) bathe, one after the other.
The birds use it year-round.
I sometimes have a lineup of two or three birds "on deck" waiting for their turn--I'm not making this up.
To correct this problem, I see the compnay now has a "deep dish" design where the entire base sits on the deck for stability.
The problem with this is this birdbath creates the illusion of being much deeper than it is.
You only need two flat rocks, approx.
Your birds will love you for it.
I can see them right out my bay window in the kitchen, plus it starts a lot of conversations when we have friends over. I've had this birdbath for about 2yrs. I just recently got another one for my aging parents to enjoy too. I love it.very easy to mount on my 6" wide deck railing and very easy to clean. The birds love it, to drink and bathe in, and I sometimes have a few squirrels to take a drink too. The only thing is, I might try a heater for the winter. The birds were so used to drinking from this location that the blocks of ice didn't help, but I just put some fresh water on top or tipped the unit to clear out the ice.
In the end, I cut a chunk of 2x4 from a spare piece of wood I had lying around and used it as a "shim" so I could make use of the smaller screws. Instead they tended to bend the entire clamp convexly (is that a word).
The basin is plastic and very lightweight, which is good. The clamp holding it to the railing of your deck is metal but not nearly sturdy enough.
It's a little on the flimsy side, although for $40 (at the time of my purchase) I hardly expected something made of cast iron. However, to fasten it in place for a 2x4, you have to use much longer (provided) screws which don't really hold it tight enough.
When attached it to our deck (which has 2x4 railings) and the clamp did hold it tight enough.Here's the problem: the clamp would work better on a 2x6 railing. It (the clamp) is basically about 7" long, has one leg that fits squarely on one side of your railing while the other hangs off and has short screws that insert into that other end which you tighten/screw down to hold it onto the 2x6 (probably quite nicely).
and make it lose its grip entirely. It's on fairly securely, but it probably won't hold the weight of some backyard woodland creature that might try to get in for a drink.So yeah, it works, finally and after about 30 minutes of finagling, but I think for $40 I would have liked a sturdier mounting bracket.
I just bought this bird bath and am tempted to return it. The brackets do not fit together, so the bowl does not clip onto the railing properly. It is unstable and not level. It is just poorly made and definitely not worth the money.
|
