Do you have a birdbath out in your yard that you enjoy bird watching from? The birdbath is one of my favorite garden decor items, adding a very nice design touch that is also functional. It’s actually really relaxing to observe birds using the birdbath. (It’s just not so much fun to clean, but I’ll talk about that in a different article!)

One “problem” with my birdbath is that while it’s nice looking, it’s stagnant. The water simply sits in there. What if there were a way to get the water moving? What if I were to install a pump in it and make it into a water fountain AND a bird bath?

Forget about having to run a power chord or anything like that out to your yard. Instead, you can simply buy a solar pump and install it into the birdbath and the rest takes of ourselves.

Here’s how you do this:

First, you’ll need to purchase a small solar pump. Something about 10V will do just fine. The pump will come with an attached solar panel. Now for this to work, you’ll have to be using a birdbath that is a few inches deep, but, that will qualify 95% of birdbaths so that’s not much of a concern. Empty out the water and place the pump into it, facing upwards. Attach the solar panel via the accompanying cord to the water pump. Here is where you’ll need to be creative. If possible, you’ll want to somehow shield or obscure the solar panel from being outright viewable, yet it needs to also directly in the sun so it can do its solar magic. Failing this, you can always simply place it on the ground next to the bird bath. Even if yourself and others can see the solar panel, it will still be okay!

Once it’s installed into the birdbath, refill it with water. Then you’ll have to give it time to “queue” up some energy from the sun. This probably means you’ll just set it up one day, and by the end of the next day, it will have collected enough energy from the sun to power the pump.

And that’s it – you’re done! The simplicity of this is what makes it so great. One can go out and buy a solar pump for a bird bath to convert it into a solar fountain for under $50, then set it up and install it in just minutes. After that, your job is done, but the solar fountain will continue to do its job so long as the sun is shining!

With a solar pump installed into the birdbath, you now have a birdbath and a solar fountain all in one! This makes bird watching more fun and the sound of the water creates a relaxing, mesmerizing experience.