This year I bought another birdbath, much bigger in diameter, from Lowe's with a very deep bowl which I'll set up next year as a solar fountain. I definitely could not take the bowl off and lay it on its side each year. Way too heavy.

My problem was finding a cover for the winter that would fit this larger/deeper bowl. After much searching, and not finding any that would fit the diameter and depth, I just happened to see an ad for a spare tire cover when googling "covers". Since the covers are used on spare tires exposed to the elements, I figured I would give it a shot and see how it lasts through our winter weather.

The cover arrived and is in place. It is a heavy cover with an elastic edging but also a draw string to pull everything tight.
I'll come back in the spring and post how the cover held up over the winter. Hopefully, this works and I don't have to hunt for another solution next year.

Julia

This is an interesting tip, Julia.

What kind of protection is this for? Surely this won't protect from freezing temperatures?

I'm thinking that the main issue is water getting in the bird bath, freezing, and cracking it.

The cover solves that problem by not allowing water to get in. As long as they stay dry they won't crack. It's the expansion from freezing that does all of the damage.

That makes perfect sense.

Yes, didn't want the rain/snow getting inside again, freezing and cracking the bowl so needed a large cover.
Covers for birdbaths are expensive (just my opinion) and the largest bowl size they sold online that I found was 18" diameter. I needed one
at least 24 inch diameter. Hope this works.

I have two other concrete birdbaths (smaller) and typically I would just empty and then lay on its side next to the column. But this new birdbath is way too heavy to do it.

If this works out, then next year I'll get covers for the other two. No more lifting off the bowls after we empty them.