Excellent for bdelloid rotifers, certain algae and other microlife.

Decomposing debris in a birdbath may be collected with a pipette when the basin is wet.  Add to a MicroAquarium for an instant view of rotifers and other life.

Dry birdbath debris can be collected and stored for years in a paper packet under room conditions.  To activate rotifers and other microlife, add a pinch or two of the dried material to distilled water in a MicroAquarium and observe the dried rotifers as they come to life---which should happen within 20 minutes.

A dry birdbath will spring to life after a rain.
The red stain in the dry basin above is due to the dormant bodies of rotifers and the akinetes of the birdbath alga Haematococcus.

After a rain this flat roof holds a small pond of water in which rotifers roam for days.  When the roof dries, the rotifers remain on the roof but in a dormant, desiccated state staining the roof pink.