When the ponds freeze solid, where do the chickadees drink? A Wisconsin woodcarver spent ten winters working out the answer – and he's selling the last of his bird baths at a discount.
If you feed the birds, you know the morning. It's 12 degrees out, the yard is white, and the feeders are busy – chickadees, juncos, a pair of cardinals glowing red against the snow. Then you look at the bird bath. It's a block of ice. A chickadee lands on it, taps it twice, and flies off.
We think of winter as the hungry season. We fill the feeders and put out suet. But on a frozen morning, food often isn't the hardest thing for a bird to find.
Water is. Creeks ice over, puddles freeze solid, and snow is a poor substitute – eating it costs a small bird precious body heat. And birds need water for two things: to drink, and to bathe – because clean, well-kept feathers are what keep a chickadee warm through a below-zero night.
The fix is simple: a shallow bowl of fresh, open water, topped up every morning. Simple – and yet, as one Wisconsin woodcarver found out, surprisingly easy to get wrong.
Fresh water. Every morning. Especially when it freezes.
On a bitter night, a small songbird burns through a lot of energy just staying warm. Its feathers work like a down jacket – and a down jacket only works if it's clean and fluffed up. That's why you'll see birds splashing in open water even when it's well below freezing.
"Everybody fills the feeders in winter," says Earl Haugen. "Hardly anybody thinks about water. Put out a bowl of fresh water on a frozen morning, and it's the busiest spot in the yard. You'll see birds you didn't know you had."
Good intentions aren't enough – why most bird baths fail in winter
The big concrete pedestal bath out in the yard freezes into a block and stays that way for weeks. Too heavy to bring in, too deep to thaw – and freeze-thaw cycles crack it.
The glazed ceramic dish is pretty in July. In a hard freeze, glazed ceramic can crack, and when it's wet the glaze is slick as glass for little feet.
The pond and the creek ice over. Birds can't drink through ice.
The bath way out by the back fence never gets refilled – because nobody wants to wade through a foot of snow at 7 a.m. with a kettle.
"Make something the chickadees will like"
It started with a retirement present. When Earl left the dairy co-op after thirty-one years, his wife June left a block of basswood and a set of carving knives on the workbench in the barn, with a note: "Make something the chickadees will like. And stay out of my kitchen."
Earl's grandfather had whittled foxes and loons by the woodstove every winter. So the first thing Earl carved was a fox – curled up and content, with a little bowl on his head. He set it on the back porch step, right outside the kitchen window.
On the first morning below zero, June poured warm water into the bowl. A chickadee was in it before she'd closed the storm door.
"That's when I started really watching. Not just carving – watching. Who shows up first. How long the water stays open. What's too deep, what's too slick, what's too far from cover."
Over the next ten years he carved more designs, cast them in high-quality resin so they'd hold up to a Wisconsin winter, and painted every one by hand. He sold them only locally – at the county fair, the Saturday farmers' market, the church holiday bazaar, and to folks who'd seen one on a neighbor's porch and pulled into his driveway.
"A chickadee drinks differently than a blue jay. Sounds obvious. It wasn't, to me."
- Shallow beats big. A shallow bowl is easier to keep open and safer for small birds than a deep pedestal bath.
- Keep it close to the door. If you can reach it from the porch in your slippers, it gets refilled every morning. That's the whole secret.
- Warm, never hot. Pour in warm water to melt the ice – never boiling, and never salt, antifreeze or glycerin.
- Near cover, not inside it. Close to a shrub or evergreen so they can dart away, with open space around it so cats can't sneak up.
- Grip matters. A textured, carved rim gives cold little feet something to hold. Slick glaze doesn't.
They look like folk-art carvings. The birds don't care – and that's the point.
- Shaped from ten winters of watching – shallow bowl, textured rim, built for small songbirds
- Hand-carved master – every design starts as a basswood carving by Earl, knife facets left visible on purpose
- Cast in high-quality resin – keeps every carved detail and won't crack in a freeze the way glazed ceramic and concrete can
- Small and light – about 10 inches tall, easy to keep on the porch where you'll actually refill it
- Hand-painted, coat by coat – no two come out exactly alike
- Five designs – and a great Christmas gift for anyone who loves their backyard birds
UPDATE: After more than ten years of carving, painting and loading the pickup for the farmers' market, Earl is stepping back from the business. For the last time, he's selling what's left in the barn online – this winter's batch and the last pieces from earlier seasons. Now $45 each – Free shipping in the US. After that, he'll only make them for family and friends. See what's still in the barn >>
What customers are saying
"Bought this as a present for my dad who has a green thumb and loves his garden. He sends me a photo every time a new bird turns up."
"The birds dicovered their new water source really quick. After a few days I noticed a lot more birds in our garden."
"I carve in summer. In winter, I'm on kettle duty."
What's in the barn now is all there is: 240 hand-painted pieces across all five designs. When a design is gone, it's gone – there won't be another online sale.
And the timing matters. The hard freezes come in December and January. "Get it out before the first real cold snap," Earl says. "Fill it when you put the coffee on. By the end of the first cold week, you'll have regulars." Giving it as a gift? Order by December 10 for delivery before Christmas.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Set it on the porch. See who shows up. If you're not happy with it, send it back within 30 days for a full refund.
Check availabilityFree shipping in the US"I put this bird bath outside for the third year now, and must say Ros did an amazing job. The birds love it."
"The designs are so cute! The fox is a nice addition to our garden decor and a real help for all the little birdies."
Hand-painted resin bird bath, approx. 10 in (25 cm) tall, cast from a hand-carved master. Five designs: Fox, Raccoon Stump, Golden Retriever, Rooster & Hen, Hedgehog. Each piece painted by hand – colors vary slightly from the photos. In freezing weather, melt ice with warm (never boiling) water; never add salt, antifreeze or glycerin.