Birds need water. For both drinking and washing. It’s not uncommon to see larger birds dipping pieces of dry bread into water, to soften it and make it easier to eat. But even the small birds can only eat so many dry seeds and nuts without a welcome drink of water. Washing gives the birds a chance to get rid of the dust on their feathers, dispose of mites and parasites. Or maybe they just enjoy it!

Recently we observed a blackbird and a thrush sharing the bird-bath at Fota. Here’s what we saw…