Knowledge base: Feeding garden birds
Do garden birds need water in winter?
Water helps most when natural sources are frozen or dried up. The RSPB says you do not need to provide extra water “unless the pond has dried out or the water is frozen”, and the BTO says much the same about shallow-edged ponds. If you do put out a bird bath, both say change the water every day and clean the bath weekly.
Change it daily or do not offer it
The RSPB’s current advice is: “Only offer water if you’re able to change it every day.” It suggests fresh tap water, and calls a pond the best water source for birds. Its feeding page says to replace old water with fresh tap water every day and disinfect the bath weekly. The BTO says water should be replaced daily and bowls or trays cleaned weekly.
The reason is disease. Bird baths are shared by many birds, which is why the BTO also says to leave them empty after you see sick or dead birds, until no more are seen. See what to do about a sick bird at the feeder.
Ice
Neither organisation’s page that we opened gives a method for keeping a bath ice-free, so Finchwold does not suggest one here. What the sources do say is that frozen water is the situation in which extra water is worth offering, and that it must be fresh each day.
Sources
- RSPB: Feeding birds near you, opened 14 November 2026.
- RSPB: Feeding garden birds, opened 14 November 2026.
- BTO: Feeding FAQs, opened 14 November 2026.
- BTO: Good hygiene practice, opened 14 November 2026.