Ditch Traditional Bird Baths: Amazon's Smart Alternative Doubles As Garden Decor

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You've been waiting for songbirds to flock to your birdie spa, but your feathered friends seem to be avoiding the bird bath. You've probably done enough research to know that birds prefer a water depth of two to three inches and need a safe spot in which to bathe. If these things don't seem to be the issue, it's possible you need to advertise a little better: birds are naturally drawn to the sound of running water. One Amazon find, the SAC SMARTEN ARTS Solar Fountain, may provide a solution to your "marketing" issue while also doubling as garden decor. Made of resin and designed to look like a natural rock formation, the fountain can add visual and auditory interest to your existing bird bath or container. Plus, birds tend to favor bathing sites that have somewhere to perch with enough texture to give them a firm footing if they need to take off in a hurry.

The fountain doesn't need to be adhered to the bottom of the container in which it's installed, as the resin ring should be heavy enough to keep it in place on its own. As the name of the product may suggest, it does need to be installed in direct sunlight in order for the 1.4-watt solar panel to work. The fountain retails for $32.99 and comes with five interchangeable nozzles that deliver different spray patterns and pressures. In the Amazon listing, the company notes that the bird bath addition is a refreshing feature that's great for attracting hummingbirds to the garden.

61% of the 123 user reviews for the SAC SMARTEN ARTS fountain are five-star, putting the product at an average rating of four stars. Reviewers who were pleased with their purchase mentioned how well it works in the sunlight, with one observing that it "works continuously when in unobstructed sunshine, and gives out little squirts of water every few seconds when the sun is partially obstructed." A few other reviewers expressed a preference for this fountain over other solar fountain models they've tried, especially those that require suction cups to stay in place, saying that those models tend to break free of their moorings and float around, sometimes spraying water out of the container as they go. Several also like the fountain for its cute aesthetic, with one even saying that they want to landscape the bird bath by adding whimsical, fairy-like decor nearby.

It's definitely worth noting that there are also some negative reviews, with 11% giving it only one star and 4% two stars. Some of these folks were annoyed that the fountain only works in very direct sunlight and stops anytime even the smallest cloud passes by, and others claimed that it doesn't even work particularly well in full sun. Other negative reviews described the fountain as being cheap or poorly made, and one person noted that the color was quickly bleached out of the "rocks" by the elements.