I have wanted to do this for some time, especially since we are living in a bit of a rainshadow. I had a few ideas floating around in my head, but most of them depended on what I’d seen and known that a bird bath should be.
We have a small area of gravel on the property, where we park one of the cars when we need to, and I decided it would be the perfect spot to shape out a concave mould for my birdbath idea.
I dug a shallow depression and used a concrete mix from the hardware store. The bag of concrete weighed about 60 pounds and more disagreeable than a sack of potatoes. I mixed it in a plastic tub with the measured amount of water. I put broad leafed weeds to good use; lined the depression with a plastic bag and leaves, and then poured the wet concrete into the depression. I pressed another depression into the top of the concrete and covered the surface with more leaves, plastic and gravel, and a large stone to maintain the shape. Two days later the concrete cake was baked, and I peeled away the lining and heaved the bowl onto a stack of stones by our garden. I look forward to new visitors once the rain stops.
Andrew Binks 