So birds are drinking from your pool water and you can’t help but wonder: “can birds drink pool water!?” Well, it puzzled me too, so I did some proper research and came up with a definite answer! Here’s what I found:
Birds can drink swimming pool water. However, birds should not drink pool water for prolonged periods of time because this can cause chlorination or bromination poisoning. In addition, if the pool is poorly maintained, birds can become intoxicated with pathogens, waste, and debris in the pool.
Birds have lots to lose when they choose to drink water from swimming pools. In this article, I will cover more on how the chemicals in swimming pool water are harmful to birds. Read on more to find out how to deal with them too!
Can Birds Drink Pool Water?
That’s a good question.
As much as we love to swim and frolic in swimming pools to cool down from the summer heat, birds also love them!
Birds can’t resist this easily accessible water source, just like any lake or pond in a park.
However, there are many concerns about them doing so!
Here’s why:
Swimming pool water contains a ton of chemicals that can even harm humans if consumed in large amounts.
With the relatively small bodies of birds compared to adult humans, birds are much more vulnerable to poisoning from consuming so much of the harmful chemicals in pools!
Here’s a video of a bird drinking from pool water:
Birds can drink swimming pool water. However, birds should not drink pool water for prolonged periods of time because this can cause chlorination or bromination poisoning. In addition, if the pool is poorly maintained, birds can become intoxicated with pathogens, waste, and debris in the pool.
Let’s cover the common chemicals found in pools first:
Chemical / Material | Details |
Chlorine | Chlorine reacts with water to create hypochlorous acid that kills cells (both pathogen and birds’ cells) |
Bromine | More reactive but works similar to Chlorine. |
Cyanuric acid | A Stabilizing agent for Chlorine to protect against UV rays |
Ammonia | An irritant from organic matter such as human sweat and urine, decaying fallen leaves, |
Chloramines | A harmful compound formed by hypochlorous acid and ammonia. |
Pathogens | Harmful bacteria and other microorganisms that remain after chlorine treatment |
Human skin cells and sweat | Remnants of human usage. |
Debris | Any fallen dead leaves, branches, or dirt |
Algae | Algae build up in pools that haven’t been maintained in a while |
After learning about what stuff is in the swimming pool water above, don’t you find it a little gross for birds to be drinking from pools?
Moreover, it is very harmful to them to do it in the long term.
Will Chlorinated Water Hurt Birds?
Chlorinated water will hurt birds if consumed. Chlorinated water does not do harm to birds externally but it contains hypochlorous acid to inhibit bacterial growth which can cause chlorine poisoning in birds when they swallow it in large amounts.
I quote Healthline for this information. Also, I do provide my inputs as a trained biologist. It’s best to not let birds
Will Pool Water Kill Birds?
Now that we all know the harm that the different chemicals and materials in pools can do to birds, the burning question comes up: “Will pool water kill birds?” Here’s my answer:
Pool water will not kill birds unless they consume it in large amounts. The chlorinated water in swimming pools is harmful to birds and can cause chloride poisoning. Furthermore, pool water contains cyanuric acid and ammonia from various sources, which are toxic to birds.
There have been many cases where birds come back often to drink the pool water, but still, survive. As such, it really depends on how much the birds consume.
If the birds consume in larger amounts, then it is more likely to suffer from chlorine poisoning!
How Do I Stop Birds From Drinking Pool Water?
After learning about the repercussions of birds drinking from your swimming pool water, the most important question now is: how on earth will you deal with this?! No fret, I offer a few quick solutions.
Here are 3 quick ways to deal with it:
1. Cover Up Your Pool
The simplest way to deal with birds drinking your swimming pool water is to simply cover your pool up. If you can, get a large sheet to cover the top of your pool so birds can’t have access to it.
I know this can be troublesome and tough, but it’s a surefire way to stop birds from drinking pool water.
2. Scare The Birds Away
Another method is to scare birds away from your house entirely. You can do so by placing scarecrows around your pool.
Oh! I’m not referring to the traditional scarecrows you would see at farms to scare birds. I mean placing realistic-looking figures of predator birds around your pool!
There are many options out there but most are either owls, hawks, or falcons.
Birds are naturally scared of being eaten by these predator birds, so there’s a high chance that birds will be scared to even approach the vicinity of your pool!
Here are some of my recommendations and their Amazon links:
Recommended bird predator scarecrow: Fake Horned Hawk Scarecrow
Recommended Bird Predator Scarecrow: Motion Activated Owl Scarecrow
3. Set Up A Bird Bath or Bird Water Foundation
A great way to discourage birds from using your swimming pool for drinking, you can consider purchasing or setting up a bird bath or bird water foundation so that birds can bathe and drink from there instead.
If you’d like some options, here are two that are great for this from Amazon:
Mumtop Flower Patterned Stake Bird Bath
Kante Flower Patterned Concrete Bird Bath
Will Chlorine In A Fountain Harm Birds?
Chlorine in water fountains can hurt birds if consumed. Chlorinated water does not do harm to birds externally but it contains hypochlorous acid to inhibit bacterial growth which can cause chlorine poisoning in birds when they swallow it in large amounts.
Final Thoughts
Okay, now you know that chlorine water in swimming pools is bad for birds and can even kill them if consumed in large amounts.
Let’s all do our part to prevent birds from dying just because they drink our swimming pool water! Set up a birdbath or two so birds can drink from another water source.
Thanks for reading up till this point, I hope you have learned something today. Happy birding!
My Recommended Birding Resources:
Hey there, Justin here!
Here’s a list of all my favorite resources, products, and all brands I trust and love.
Although some may be affiliate links, I will only recommend those that I think are of great value. Simply purchasing using the links helps to keep this blog running!
- My Binoculars: The pair of binoculars that I personally use is the Celestron Nature DX 8×42 Binoculars. It’s a great budget pair for beginner birders. Highly valued for its price! Read my review here.
- Safe Paint for Bird Baths: Not any paint can be used to paint bird baths. Links to all safe paint for bird baths are in this article I wrote!
- Safe Sealers for Bird Baths: Not all sealers can be used to paint bird baths. Links to all sealers for bird baths are in this article I wrote!
- Safe Paint for Bird Feeders: Special care needs to be taken to paint bird feeders with the right paint. Read more in the article here!
- Safe Paint for Birdhouses: Not any paint can be used to paint birdhouses. Links to all safe paint for birdhouses are in this article I wrote!
- Birding Apps: 2 of my favorite birding apps are Merlin Bird ID, and eBird Mobile! Merlin is great for tracking and identifying birds, and eBird Mobile is great to track the birds sighted when birding. Read a post about them here.
- Birding Websites: I’ve compiled a list of links to my top 10 recommended birding websites in a blog post. Find the links here!
- Birding Podcasts: Birding podcasts are a great way to learn about birds. Links to the top 8 that I recommend can be found here!
Alternatively, you can check out my resources page here where I’ve compiled all the links to the above!