Bravo! Yes, this is going to be a problem for all of us and we appreciate
having strong rebuttal points.
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 mini, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Scott Weidensaul <scottweidensaul@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 1/6/2017 06:08 (GMT-06:00)
To: humband@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [humband] Re: concerning promotion of protein in nectar
The article in question is on a local Audubon chapter's website, and doesn't
come from National Audubon:
http://pilchuckaudubon.org/userfiles/file/Winter%20Feeding%20of%20Hummingbirds%20rev.pdf
…but it's been circulated widely in just the past week so, yes, we'll all be
dealing with the fallout from this dreck.
The author is identified as Wally Davis, who describes himself as a former UC
Berkeley grad student who maintained captive hummers and is now in B.C. There
are a couple of howler-level assumptions that no one with a smidgen of
scientific knowledge should make, i.e.:
"As a few years passed, I observed that there were fewer birds in late winter
than in early winter. Two possible reasons for this are that the birds leave
and go somewhere else or they do not survive. Because little natural food is
available in the winter, I believe it is unlikely that the birds leave. It is
important to note, once you attract hummingbirds for the winter, you must keep
it up even if you are out of town or the birds may starve."
Really? So migratory behavior in a migratory species doesn't enter the
equation, Einstein?
And this, after laying out his rationale for mixing baby formula with nectar:
"At the end of last winer it appeared to me that there were as many Anna's
hummingbirds as at the beginning. This gives me confidence that there isn't a
downside to adding baby formula; it also gives me one subjective data point
that the formula I use promotes winter survival."
Yep, we should all be striving for subjective data points.
"Fake news" isn't just a problem with politics, sadly.
Scott Weidensaul
Schuylkill Haven, PA
On Jan 5, 2017, at 10:14 PM, ajmoran wrote:
Hi Humband Members,
I just had a very odd email exchange and wanted to pass it on, since the same
issue may be coming your way.
A lady wrote me to ask about supplementing her feeder with protein (blood!),
having read about it on the net.
Cheers,
Alison (RPBO, Victoria, BC)
p.s. our birds overwinter just fine in the interior of BC, which is far
colder than the coast.
Hello,
I was just wondering if you have any ideas on how to provide protein over
this unusual snowy winter, here in Vancouver , BC..
What do you think of putting meat ( blood) , in the feeder. I have a piece
of raw meat sitting on a branch with liquid blood dripping off it, and am
thinking it is going to waste.
I have an article from philchuckaudubon.org who used Gerber's baby formula
with success. Have you tried this? The article was written Jan 2016.
I enclosed the article. If you have any other thoughts id appreciate that.
Our hummers have been living off sugar water for the past month.
Hi XXXX,
Thanks for your query.
Sugar water is an excellent thing to supply. You are doing the best thing for
them by providing clean carbohydrates.
You are right that the birds need protein, but there is plenty of protein
around and we should be not be supplementing it. I am quite surprised that
anyone from the Audubon society would suggest protein supplements. I will ask
some of my American colleagues to follow up on this misinformation source.
Specifically, birds need to regulate the amount of protein they take in,
especially when breeding, which is what the Anna's are doing now. Their
requirements change substantially depending on where they are in the process
of raising chicks. Too much protein can actually harm chick development. They
can find lots of invertebrates in the trees and in plantings around houses.
So while it is very helpful to provide them with the sugar they need, I would
be extremely cautious about introducing any protein into their liquid diet,
as they will be scavenging invertebrates as well. This is not the case for
captive birds such as those in rehab or in zoos. However, those birds are not
being fed a diet designed for rearing young.
So my advice is to enjoy your birds and keep feeding them as you have been
doing. It sounds like they are quite fine and I suspect that you will soon
see their fledglings coming to partake as well.
All the best,
Alison
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