Does anyone know anything about wild bird care (pooing in drinking water?)

I feed wild birds in my garden. They are always defecating in their water dish. It is disgusting and very unsanitary for me to clean. I wear gloves when I clean their dish out, but I can't always avoid splashing myself.

I got them a water bottle that hangs upside down and drips into a dish, so at least their water is somewhat fresh, but they still poop in the dish.


Their water bottle and their feeders hang from a feeding station.

Is their anything I can to to prevent them from pooping where they drink, or is this something that I just have to put up with?

I don't want to have to constantly clean up after them. They are supposed to be wild birds, not pets.

They're birds. It's what they do. 

If you don't want the responsibility, stop feeding the wild birds. They're wild. They're capable of finding their own food (it's different if there's snow or ice). They're not going to eat your food, then fly out of your garden to poop. 

They may prefer poo flavoured water. They could be saying amongst themselves, "Why does that groundling always dump our water just when we get it about right?" They could be upping their fibre content to try and stay ahead of you.

If you don't want the responsibility, stop feeding the wild birds. They're wild. They're capable of finding their own food (it's different if there's snow or ice). They're not going to eat your food, then fly out of your garden to poop.  

Wow. I didn't expect that response.

I know that they poop. I just wanted to see if their was a way to stop them from pooping right into the  the water that they drink so they are drinking their own excrement.

I'm not complaining about them pooping in my garden, I'm posting about them pooping in their own drinking water.

I could just leave their dish full of sh*t because that is "what wild birds do", but I will continue to clean it out as often as I can. Since they are drinking from a bottle, I have to frequently refill the bottle anyway, so I have to clean their dish then.

I didn't expect to be insulted for trying to provide a nice refuge for birds, where they can get healthy food and water and at the same time I can enjoy their beauty and their music - and spending my time and money doing so.

ETA: Cross-posted with sonofasailor.

Every bag of bird seed/bird food says make sure that wild birds have a supply of clean fresh water. If they were drinking in "the wild" they would be drinking from running streams and rivers and fresh puddles after it rained.

Sorry, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves when people encounter wild animals then are surprised/annoyed that they don't behave the way they thought they would. It was this quote that really frustrated me:

I don't want to have to constantly clean up after them. They are supposed to be wild birds, not pets.

The wild birds aren't asking you to feed, water, and clean up after them. You're choosing to do that so you can enjoy them. I think it's wonderful that you want to provide them these amenities, but if you want to continue to do so, then you'll have to do a little work for it. I don't even know if pet birds can be trained not to poo in their own water dish, let alone wild ones. It just comes with the territory.

Sorry, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves when people encounter wild animals then are surprised/annoyed that they don't behave the way they thought they would. It was this quote that really frustrated me:

The wild birds aren't asking you to feed, water, and clean up after them. You're choosing to do that so you can enjoy them. I think it's wonderful that you want to provide them these amenities, but if you want to continue to do so, then you'll have to do a little work for it. I don't even know if pet birds can be trained not to poo in their own water dish, let alone wild ones. It just comes with the territory.

I agree.

Taking care of birds, wild or not, is hard work. Wild birds are nice to have in your garden, but if you chose to feed and water them, you will have a mess to clean up. That's all there is to it. If you have domesticated birds (I had a budgie for years), it's the same thing, only then it's in your house.

Birds poop.

Everywhere.

I never said that I was not willing to clean up the mess.  I just can't rush over to the water dish and clean it every time there is a bird in the garden. I was hoping to minimize any health risk to myself and to the birds.  I read somewhere that the position of the water dish is important so I might place it away from the feeding station so they can't perch on top of the feeding station and poop straight below. I thought I was helping by giving them a source of water near their food source, but maybe I was wrong.

If you have domesticated birds (I had a budgie for years), it's the same thing, only then it's in your house.

Birds poop.

Everywhere.

And sometimes, wild birds fly into your house & poop everywhere.  Just ask Marlespo! 

My dad just use to spray out our bird bath with a garden hose sprayer once in awhile.  If you tip the water out and then spray the bird bath you can avoid coming into contact with poo water.

If they were drinking in "the wild" they would be drinking from running streams and rivers and fresh puddles after it rained.

Not necessarily. They drink from standing water quite often and I'd very surprised if they went out of their way to avoid pooping in it.

My advice is to just learn to enjoy the birds and accept them for what they are. They're not human so they're not going to have human standards about what we consider to be cleanliness.

Not necessarily. They drink from standing water quite often and I'd very surprised if they went out of their way to avoid pooping in it.

We have cardinals, blue jays, robins, and all sorts of other birds in our garden and I can promise you, they drink from all sorts of spots. We had some standing water that had to have been a bacteria festival and they were all over it.

My dad just use to spray out our bird bath with a garden hose sprayer once in awhile.  If you tip the water out and then spray the bird bath you can avoid coming into contact with poo water.

That sounds like the best way to do it to me,

DH and family are die hard bird watchers.  DH said that his dad just splashes some hot water into their bird bath, if there's algae growing in it. Just wait until the water goes down, scoop out the algae, splash with hot water, job done. I imagine it's the same for the poop situation, just over flow it with hot water so that it goes into the grass. But, yeah, I'd say just leave them to it. It's multi-purpose for them. Bathing, drinking, socialising. They probably think, "Hey cool, mini pond! I need a rest, let's go." Bees also drink from the bird bath when there aren't any birds around. I wouldn't really bother disturbing a bird bath much, myself. Otherwise, they won't come around.

And sometimes, wild birds fly into your house & poop everywhere.  Just ask Marlespo! 

Heheheh poor Marlespo, that was the story of the year (sorry!) 

We got shat on a lot today looking for puffins in Northumberland. And dive bombed and shat upon by artic turns protecting their young.  That was pretty gross!!

Sweetpeach, I am pretty sure you just have to put up with the pooping!!!