Halved oranges, in this case stuck on to the sharp buds of a plum tree, seemed more attractive to Orioles when they inundated the neighborhood. Maybe they were equally interested in the insects that were finding the oranges, but in any case, there was little chance of getting stuck. Linda Whye
On May 29, 2017 2:38 PM, "Bernard P. Friel" <[email protected]> wrote: > You are correct about jelly being stickey, particularly when the > temperature is in the 50º. Twenty or so years ago I found an oriole > completely mired in my grape jelly feeder, and it took some time to clean > him up so he could fly away. > > Bernie Friel > > Bernard P. Friel > Member: > North American Nature Photography Assn. > Grand Canyon River Guides > International Society of Aviation Photography > The Explorers Club > Web Pages-http://www.wampy.com > > > > > On 5/29/17, 14:26, "Minnesota Birds on behalf of Laura Erickson" > <[email protected] on behalf of [email protected]> wrote: > > >I did a lot of research about this both when writing my book 101 Ways to > >Help Birds and when I was working at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. > > > >Intuitively, jelly really does have a lot of sugar--it's far more > >concentrated than anything birds could find in nature. But I've found no > >evidence at all that it causes harm to birds feeding on it. Unfortunately, > >ALL the information we have is based on anecdotal cases. No scientific > >studies have been done. Aviculturists avoid it with captive birds, but > >they > >have far more limited diets than wild birds. > > > >That said, there's no data that it's beneficial to birds outside of cold > >weather during migration, so I've always tried to use a big dollop of > >common sense. When I've had catbirds, orioles, or Red-bellied Woodpeckers > >sticking around beyond migration, I've kept out the jelly as long as none > >of the birds seem to be visiting it more than a couple of times a day. > > > >There is one HUGE caveat about jelly: It's very sticky. Make sure you > >don't > >put it out in amounts that could get a bird mired in it. I found that out > >the hard way, and it almost killed a Red-breasted Nuthatch. I have photos > >of that on my website here: http://www.lauraerickson.com/way-to-help/49/ > . > > > >By the way, I've digitized the content of 101 Ways to Help Birds, and am > >trying to update them all with links and additional information: if anyone > >notices anything I'm missing (including on this issue) please let me know. > > > >Best, Laura Erickson > >Duluth > > > >On Mon, May 29, 2017 at 1:47 PM, Nan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> Hi, > >> > >> I have a question I hope someone can answer. Does all the sugar in grape > >> jelly hurt the birds in any way? I have orioles coming to it of course, > >> but also red-bellied woodpeckers, catbirds, house finch and grackles and > >> they are all eating large amounts. > >> > >> Thanks for any help. > >> > >> Nancy Overcott > >> Fillmore County > >> > >> ---- > >> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >> > > > > > > > >-- > >Laura Erickson > >Duluth, MN > >www.lauraerickson.com > > > >For the love, understanding, and protection of birds > > > >There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. > >There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of > >nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the > >winter. > > > > ‹Rachel Carson > > > >Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > > > >---- > >Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > >Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
