Flight patterns have changed. In the backyard, there are no airplanes overhead. I’ve seen three foxes in the last two months on my back patio. Other wildlife is reclaiming their lost territory.

And the bird bath is busy. The distance between people and birds is short; our habits are not that different.

In many bird species, the male finds possible locations for a home, but the female has the final say. Makes perfect sense to me.

Yesterday, I took a break from gardening, and sat and watched the bird bath that sits atop a stone wall above our patio. Since the nearby stones were covered with water, I figured it must have been used recently. Maybe I had startled a private bather, and maybe if I sat quietly, the bird would return.

I didn’t have to wait long.

A robin landed on the rim of the bird bath, looked around and then took the plunge. She did some vigorous flapping of her wings and then hopped out onto the rim. She flew to a safe, high branch in the lilac bush right above the bird bath and began some serious preening. I looked away for a second, and she was right back in the bird bath. Water flying out onto the patio stones, she hopped up to the rim. Then she went back in the water. This was more than a bath – it looked like frolicking. No one spends more time in a bird bath than a robin. Trust me, I’ve done my research.

A pair of mourning doves stopped by. Their bathing is a bit clumsy, beginning with their entry into the bird bath – they fall into it. Unlike robins, they don’t do a very thorough job of getting water under their wings. It’s more like a short baptism.

Catbirds are elegant and fastidious bathers. One hop brings them into the center of the bird bath, and they manage to get every feather wet right down to their tailfeathers. Then, after four or five headfirst dips and lots of splashing, they lift their wet tailfeathers and show their lovely brownish red rumps.

A male and female cardinal arrived in tandem. He sat on a low lilac branch and let her bathe first. I thought he was going to join her when he hopped to the rim of the bird bath, but he let his lady have a long, luxurious solo bath. Such consideration and devotion are hard to find.

Humans take note.