Laura, I no longer have access to good research papers but recollect a study promoted by CLO that spoke to avian nutrition and honeysuckle.The bottom line was that birds derived nothing of nutritional value.
I found that in direct conflict with the birds' denuding every honeysuckle in sight when the berries became ripe. Gray-stemmed dogwood is another example of knowledgeable research claims that were in conflict with observed bird feeding preferences. The upshot is better safe than story as we will never observe the health results of feeding either wild food, seed or jelly. I think we all know that the varieties of suet cake are no more than dales pitches targeting human desires/preferences. We ran a study with a then local suet cake manufacturer and found that a simple suet cake with no additives was preferred by all. Thanks for pursuing this John On Fri, May 10, 2024 at 9:34 AM Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu> wrote: > Hi all, > I have been feeding grape jelly to birds for years and find the recent > discussion about whether that is good or bad for birds very interesting, > and at the same time distressing. Can anyone who has been suggesting that > feeding jelly is bad point to any study that has shown this to be true > (jelly which does not have preservatives nor food coloring) ? > > I have been looking at the scientific literature (using google scholar) > for any credible studies that suggest feeding sucrose-laden jelly (white > sugar is sucrose) is bad for the birds which we see coming to snack > (orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, catbirds, downy woodpeckers, house > finch) and have found nothing that supports this claim. While here are > many studies looking at digestion in wild birds, nutrition of fruits and > seeds, affects of supplemental feeding (seeds, not jelly) I have found > nothing so far that suggests that feeding jelly is harmful. Generally, it > seems birds select foods from which they derive nutrition and for which > their digestive systems are able to process. I have also not found any > study that looks specifically at the effects on birds of consuming jelly. > > So, I have decided to feed more oranges and to cut back on the jelly, but > not to eliminate it entirely. Wild birds seem able to know what is good for > them. > > Any thoughts? > Laura > > > Laura Stenzler > l...@cornell.edu > -- > > (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") > > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm > NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsRULES_DOT_htm > NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/cayugabirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html > 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds > 3) aba_DOT_org/birding-news/ > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ > > -- > > -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") Cayugabirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/cayugabirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) aba_DOT_org/birding-news/ Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
