Say Goodbye To Traditional Birdbaths: Use An Old Bundt Pan For An Easy DIY Solution

If you're looking for a fun, inviting space for local birds to congregate and bathe, you needn't rely on expensive, elaborate stone structures. In fact, one of the most useful birdbaths might already be hiding in your kitchen cabinet, or sitting in a thrift store waiting for a second life. An old Bundt pan, also known as a fluted cake pan or ring cake pan, can be transformed through an easy DIY into a simple bird-friendly water feature with very little effort. The unusual shape might even offer an advantage, since the fluted, shallow ring provides plenty of surface area for birds to land on and perch both during and after bath time. 

Before you barrel forward with a Bundt pan under each arm, be sure to weigh a few simple considerations when building a birdbath. For starters, a metal pan can get quite hot when exposed to direct summer sunlight, so it may be worth investing in another material if you lack shady spaces around the yard. The pan should also be cleaned thoroughly before you set it outside, and stripped of any loose paint chips that could be toxic or leach chemicals into the water.

If you've got a good-quality Bundt pan cleaned and ready to roll, you'll find that turning it into a birdbath is a simple and fun DIY that can be completed in a single afternoon. Just prepare some additional materials — such as a waterproof adhesive or epoxy and an accompanying stand — and you're well on your way to creating a stylish oasis for local birds , bees, and other pollinators around your neighborhood.

Turning your fluted cake pan into a birdbath is a fairly straightforward process with plenty of room for customization. If you've got an existing water fixture in your garden or flat surface in your yard, you may not need a stand at all. Just remember to place your birdbath roughly 10 to 15 feet away from any shrubbery or trees, so the birds can keep an eye out for predators but still access cover and food sources. If you do need a stand to set your Bundt pan on, check out local thrift stores for lamp stands, tall candle holders, or outdoor end tables. 

Once you've got everything together, simply affix your ring cake pan to the flat surface of your stand using a heavy-duty adhesive like E6000 or waterproof epoxy. Next, you'll notice that Bundt pans are generally too deep for most birds, so decorate the interior with features that make the birdbath more comfortable — a variety of rocks, twigs, and other garden accoutrements. Here, you have an opportunity to customize your birdbath to your heart's content by filling it with bird-friendly decor that fits your garden's aesthetic. For the best results, water should reach a depth of 1 to 2 inches in the center of the birdbath, and ½ inch around the perimeter. If the center flute is hollow, plug the top by affixing a decorative feature like a doorknob or a flat circle of plastic or metal.

When you've got the Bundt pan fully decorated, and set up in your backyard, all that's left is to whip out your binoculars and wait for your feathery friends to arrive. Once you've got the birdbath up and running, regular cleaning will help to prevent algae, bacteria, debris, and mosquito larvae from sullying the water.