birdbath

Actually, bird baths can be a lot of fun. Typically they attract more, and a wider variety of birds than a bird feeder. This is because of their universal appeal. All birds like to bathe (well, nearly all). Birds are much pickier about their food though. Certain types of food attract only certain types of birds, so a birdfeeder attracts only a few species.

If you get a bird bath, be sure to maintain the purity of the water (remember the birds drink it too) and keep the birdbath clean. Contamination from chemicals / herbicides / insecticides can hurt the birds and cause defects in their eggs. So there is some maintenance to be done.

Birdbaths are, of course, the ultimate water feature: they're useful certainly, and they're excellent to watch, too. I appreciate that birds are just doing what their evolutionary programming is telling them to do - but nothing beats looking up out of a window and watching a thrush sitting in the middle of a birdbath chucking water around in a reckless and euphoric fashion: it's probably not really 'enjoying' itself in any human-relatable way - but it sure looks as if it is.

Birds queue up to use birdbaths too, almost like humans in a shower block. I've watched three or four blackbirds sit patiently (almost with towels over their wings and a soap bag clutched in each beak) while a sparrow metaphorically rubs soap over its chest.

If you're feeling glum - forget the TV: get a birdbath.