Showcase Minnesota May 14, 2007
Today's Showcase Minnesota segment featured hummingbird and oriole feeders from All Seasons Wild Bird Store in Wayzata, 952-473-4283.Labels: digiscoping
posted by birdchick at 8:14 AM
Monday, May 14, 2007
Today's Showcase Minnesota segment featured hummingbird and oriole feeders from All Seasons Wild Bird Store in Wayzata, 952-473-4283.About Me
- Name: birdchick
- Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States
To show the world that you can be a birder without being a geek.
These companies help support this site!
L I N K S
My digiscoping setup
National Camera Exchange
San Diego Birding Festival March 5-8, 2009
You can also order City Birds, Country Birds from your local bookstore, or online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon!
Birdchick T-Shirts!
Watch for Birdchick's
"Birding Gear Tips" in
WildBird Magazine
::Sharon::
Birdchick.com
Birdchic Boutique
Appearances/Calendar
Adventure Publications
Disapproving Rabbits
::Help for Injured Animals::
The Raptor Center
MN Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Find a rehabber near you
::Animal Cams (Rotating)::
::Birder Blogroll (Rotating)::
::Rabbits, Critters, Etc.::
Cute Overload
Rabbit Bites
Archi's Antics
::Media/Connections (Rotating)::
::Subscribe::
Birdchick Blog Feed (XML)
Birdchick Blog Feed (RSS)
Birdchick LiveJournal syndication
Previous Posts
- Everything BUT An Oriole
- Common Yellowthroat & Another Contest
- Contest Contest Contest
- You Gotta Know When To Hold 'Em
- Fox Snake At Carpenter
- Buzzard/Vulture Story Gripping The News
- Bee Report - Olga on Track
- The Official Bird Conservation Day
- How I Spent My Wednesday Night
- Another Bird Not Reading The Books
5 Comments:
is the red stuff you buy at the store for feeders an ok thing or is sugar water better? i've always used the red stuff cuz that's what they sell. i notice the store you link sells a nectar that is clear. is that a better choice for the birds?
just wanting to do the right thing :-)
carri ann
aka archi's mum
That's a great question. I have heard from good sources that the red dye in hummingbird nectar can cause a whole host of potential illnesses, up to and including cancer. I have also heard anecdotal evidence that hummers tend to prefer clear nectar over red nectar.
The bottom line is that there have been no conclusive scientific tests that prove whether or not the red dye in hummingbird nectar is harmful to birds.
Many people choose to err on the side of caution and offer clear nectar. You can purchase clear nectar or make your own. As long as your feeder has some red on it, the nectar doesn't need to be colored anyway.
I think at some point and time all of us have offered the red dye. I personally think we put too much worry on the dye and not on keeping hummingbird feeders clean. I think at this point, it's far more important that nectar feeders be cleaned and filled with fresh nectar. If youre feeder is in direct sun, it should be changed every two day, if it's in the shade it should be changed every five days.
I loved the humming bird photos, didn't know about the harmful effects of red dye nectar. Do you have a recipe for homemade nectar? I make my own simple syrup for my own drinking pleasure (can't make a mint jupel without one). So can I make my own humming bird nectar. I wash my feeder once a week. I have humming birds in my backyard and believe it or not they actually know me. Namaste.
thanks - i do get direct sun - did not realize i need to clean it every couple of days so thank you for that too. and i read 1 part sugar to 4 parts water on the wildbird store site for homemade nectar - does that sound right BC? thanks again - i just started putting out hummingbird feeders 2 years ago and have really enjoyed having them around and watching them fight over it... there's 4 stations with perches on mine but yet they can't share! territorial little buggers they are :-) fun to watch tho - they have gotten used to me enough that they will feed at my porch feeder while i'm sitting there reading -way cool
archi ann has the right nectar recipe: 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Boil until the sugar dissolves, let cool and serve. You can store it in your fridge for 2 weeks. Never use honey or artificial sweetners when making hummingbird nectar.
Some commercial nectars only need three parts water (they are different concentrations) but the advantage is that you usually don't have to boil those.
Post a Comment
<< Home