Thanks to Donna and Paul for the information provided.
Fun observation:Toxay I bought an oriole feeder and some prepared bird jelly. I
put it out and got some jelly on me as I hung the feeder. I walked inside,
washed my fingers,walked back to the door. and in that amount of time there ws
an oriole eating the jelly. Amazing.
Woodpeckers and summer suit:I once spent several hours over each of two days
watching a Red-bellied Woodpecker feeding young at a nest. The nest was near my
suit feeders, that I know both male and female visited. The adults brought both
large caterpillars and suet to their young. This was not exactly alternated,
but sort of close to bringing the different food on alternate trips. I don't
ascribe wisdom to the birds, but effectively they varied the diet of their
young.
Merlin: More Merlin discovered in Tomp. County this year than ever before,
partially due to Geo's help. But lots of areas that have had nests in the past,
don't have any reports (YET) for this year. I just found a nest near The
Parkway x Klinewood Rds. x Comstock, so I don't need help about that pair. Just
confirmed today a nest on Yellow Barn Rd. But, the pair near the Dryden Hotel
and along Lake Rd. have eluded me, despite a lot of time looking. I have this
love/hate relationship with Merlin. Today, I watched a female eat a small prey
brought by her mate to the nest area, legs and feet and all.
Love those birds.
John
On Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 02:52:02 PM EDT, Paul Schmitt
<[email protected]> wrote:
Good factual separation on high fructose versus “natural”. Based on my
experience feeding hummingbirds, I believe there is an additional difference
that separates cane sugar from beet sugar. Years ago, hummers suddenly refused
our sugar nectar. Realizing we had opened a new bag, we checked the bag. It
listed beet sugar. Tasted identical to our taste buds. Borrowed cane sugar
from neighbors and on providing it to the feeders, the hummer eagerly returned.
I wondered if it is higher sugar content or closer to real nectar taste?
Paul Schmitt
Sent from my iPhone
On May 9, 2024, at 10:59 AM, Deb Grantham <[email protected]> wrote:
Or pots of flowers that would attract them.
Deb
On May 9, 2024 10:44 AM, Donna Lee Scott <[email protected]> wrote:
Well, I hate to wade into this topic,
but since I believe I am one of the only dedicated birders around here with
degrees in Food Science and Nutrition (BS, Mich St U; MS, Cornell U), and about
23 years work experience in two different Food Science departments in Cornell
College of Agriculture, here goes…
High-fructose corn syrup(HFCS) and sugar are similar, but there are a few
differences:
- Composition:
- HFCS: It’s a sugar-based sweetener derived from CORN syrup. Like regular
table sugar (from CANE or BEETS), it consists of both fructose and glucose
molecules. The most common type, HFCS 55, contains 55% fructose and 42% glucose.
-
- Sugar:Regular table sugar is composed of equal parts of monosaccharides
fructose and glucose (50%-50%), bound together as a disaccharide (called
Sucrose).
So the chemical composition is slightly different and the source of the sugar
is from different plants.
- Production Process:
- HFCS is made from CORN starch, which is processed to create corn syrup.
Some of the glucose in corn syrup is converted to fructose using enzymes,
resulting in HFCS.
- Table Sugar is obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets.
- Physical Form:
- HFCS is liquid and contains about 24% water.
- Sugar is dry and granulated.
- Nutritional Value:
- In terms of nutritional value and health properties, there are no
significant differences between HFCS 55 and sugar (although some science
writers debate this statement on the basis of how these substances are digested
in humans). Both are broken down into fructose and glucose during digestion.
The US Food and Drug Administration long ago declared HFCS to be safe for human
consumption.
HFCS is used in various foods because it is cheaper (or was at one time
cheaper) than cane/beet sugar.
However, in recent decades manyhumans have way-overconsumed “foods” like sodas
and some not-too-nutritional edibles, and this has contributed to obesity,
diabetes and other adverse health conditions. So, it is the high consumption of
HFCS that is the problem, most likely, and not the small chemical differences
between the two types of sugars.
Regardingbirds’ consumption of jelly (made with fruit juice) and jam (made with
fruit juice and fruit pieces) containing either of these sugar sources,
-we may have to consider if we are encouraging birds to eat too much of these
foods containing sugar. To my knowledge, nobody has studied the effect of this
“diet” for a few months of the year.
(By the way, there are no added artificial colors or flavors in grape jellies
for humans; just pectin (from apples) which makes it gel, and 1 or 2 fruit
acids (citric, malic, etc.) which make it the right pH (acidity) and may give a
tart “note.” And whatever sugar source the manufacturer chose to use).
A few years back, bird researchers found that Hummingbirds drinking sugar-water
with too high a concentration of sugar might develop fatty liver disease, so
now we are advised to make a “nectar” of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, which
if you taste it is pretty dilute.
Let’s be frank, we like putting out this attractive jelly because it brings
beautiful birds in where we can see them. As some have suggested here, maybe
just provide fruit? That would need frequent changing to avoid molds, etc.
during warm weather.
Donna L Scott
Retired Senior Extension Associate
Dept. of Food Science, CALS
Cornell University
377 Savage Farm Dr
Ithaca, NY 14850
[email protected]
From: [email protected]
<[email protected]>On Behalf Of Nancy Cusumano
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2024 7:19 AM
To: Steve Donohue <[email protected]>
Cc: Ken Haas <[email protected]>; Marie P. Read <[email protected]>; John
Gregoire <[email protected]>; Carl Steckler <[email protected]>;
CAYUGABIRDS-L <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Grape Jelly
My Trader Joe's strawberry preserve ingredients are: strawberries, liquid
sugar, sugar, water (Sugar contains 2% or less of lemon juice concentrate),
pectin.
I thought this seemed ok - is it? THe orioles seem to like the strawberry just
fine.
Thank you.
Nancy
On Wed, May 8, 2024 at 9:34 PM Steve Donohue <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a big issue. We need to fight for the poor species that unwittingly
feed on these potential poisons - put out by either uninformed birders, or
birders that just don't care.
On Wed, May 8, 2024, 8:36 PM Ken Haas <[email protected]> wrote:
I agree with Marie. However there is an alternative. Last year I found a
product called “Bird Jelly”. It is manufactured by Lizzie Mae’s Bird Seed and
Dry Good in Millersburg, OH. Go towww.LizzieMaesBirdSeed.com. Ingredients: Cane
sugar, Grapes, water, pectin, Lemon Juice, Citric Acid. It says on the label
that it is an “Excellent choice for all jelly eating birds”. Also says NOT FOR
HUMAN CONSUMPTION. I’ve used this last year and the Orioles and Catbirds seem
to really like it, and I think it is better for them than jelly bought in a
grocery store made for human consumption. I found this at the Wild Bird Center
in Horseheads, NY. Oh, and it is grape flavored. Says on the label “Amish Farm
to Backyard Feeder". “Let the birds get their jam on!”. I’ve got an 18 oz. jar
for $8.
Ken Haas
Mecklenburg
www.KenHaasPhotos.com
On May 3, 2024, at 8:14 PM, Marie P. Read <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks for this reminder, John. I always feel a sense of despair when I know
people are feeding grape jelly or any other fruit preserve.Complete with added
flavorings and colors. Killjoy that I am, I view it as junk food for birds.
(Yes I know that sugar water could be considered that too). My orioles get
oranges, period! And BTW catbirds and woodpeckers also like oranges.
Marie
Get Outlook for iOS
From:[email protected]
<[email protected]> on behalf of John Gregoire
<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 3, 2024 6:08:06 PM
To: Carl Steckler <[email protected]>
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Grape Jelly
Please be careful with this as many birds can be sickened by other than pure
cane sugars. Most other non-organic jellies contain ingredients I would not
consume let alone feed to the birds. Sugar substitutes are a special problem.
On Fri, May 3, 2024 at 5:44 PM Carl Steckler <[email protected]> wrote:
Interesting discovery today
It seems that besides Orioles, Catbirds and Hummingbirds like grape jelly too.
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