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+--- Thread: Bird feeder is Fun ! (/showthread.php?tid=487)
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Les C - 07-11-2006
It didn't even occur to me to bring our hummingbird feeders from CA. Based on our experience in CA and the climate in HI, I expect that one should change the sugar water solution daily. If you can't keep to a schedule of frequently changing your sugar water and cleaning your feeder, I think it's better to not put out a nectar feeder.
If you live at lower elevations, you may attract 'Amakihi to a nectar feeder. Japanese White-eyes will probably find it, too. I don't know if 'Apapane are found at low elevations anymore. The 'Elepaio, a monarch flycatcher, not a honeycreeper, is more of an insectivore, but it may come to a nectar feeder. Whether it can get its bill into the feeder is another question.
Mella, I think the protein powder is something that is specifically meant for rehab facilities that rescue baby hummingbirds, among other species. Since they cannot be maintained on sugar water alone, you have to provide a protein source like bugs, or the powder. Will's note indicates that the protein powder supplement is not necessary for the honeycreepers. I'd say, keep it simple.
Will's warning about not using honey is good advice. You should probably avoid molasses and other sweeteners, too. Studies have shown that granulated sugar best matches the content of flower nectar.
Les C
Edited by - Les C on 07/11/2006 11:41:52
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Andrew - 07-11-2006
Hey Les:
How about just putting out a half papaya or a peeled banana every few days. I know white-eyes would eat it up. Also the fruit has natural vitamins. Also the fruit will attract fruit flies which the birds will eat too. Especially the Amakihi? At this point this is just theory from my point of view but what do you think?
Puna's pie-eyed Pepé, proudly patted pouting Penelope's pet pygmy porcupine - Pretty Polly.
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Carolann R - 07-11-2006
LOL Andrew!!!! Are you trying to start ANOTHER trend on this forum???! Hehehehe...
"pouting Penelope's pet pygmy porcupine...heehehehe!!!
Carrie
"The opportunities to reach into the lives of others in an inspiring way arise in countless ways every single day..." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
http://www.cafepress.com/dreamhawaii
http://www.hellophoenix.com/art
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Hotzcatz - 07-11-2006
Aloha Puna People,
The whole nene goose importation topic was just because I had noticed they were available for sale from a place in Oklahoma and was astonished about that. I wasn't planning on actually importing any Nene since it would likely cause trouble - especially between trying to determine which were the imported "domestic" nene and which were the "wild" endangered nene (not that I have any of those in my back yard) and it would have caused excessive confusion somewhere, I'm sure! I'm actually hoping to get a few Pilgrim geese to graze around in the back yard. They are supposed to be a smallish, docile fairly quiet goose that will eat grass. However, it doesn't look like there are any available anywhere this year, so maybe next year.
In the meantime there are chickens and guinea hens to populate the bird feeder.
A hui hou,
Cathy
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Les C - 07-11-2006
Andrew, yep, the fruit is a great idea. In Costa Rica, many of the resorts and some rest stops put lots of cut fruit out on feeding platforms which attract a tremendous array of birds, which, in turn, attracts birders. The birds leave little deposits; the birders leave their own deposits, when they buy stuff.
Birds are usually multi-dimensional in their diets, with a propensity for certain foods, usually in conjunction with their design: bill shape, leg length, eye structure, etc. So, even though a bird is known as a nectar feeder, they may also eat insects, seeds, and fruits.
Put a clean water source out, too, for the birds to drink and bathe in. This will need some regular cleaning, just like a nectar feeder. Sometimes a moving water source does a better job at attraction, as in a fountain or a drip.
Les C
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Ironman - 07-12-2006
Mella:
On the Leopard Cats, at National we had a colony of 30 Leopard Cats that we used as the feline model to develop our artificial insemination program for all the larger cats. The founder stock (wild in origin) are very cool and complex felines. I have pictures of me holding a Clouded Leopard cub that resulted from our AI work with the Leopard Cats. I am still involved in working with the zoos in Thailand to ensure that we develop management protocols that help them preserve their endangered species gene pool into the future.
On the Hawaii ban on the hybrids Leopard Cats my only comment is "Logic Does Not Apply" to relationships or to the Hawaii classifications of native/non-native species.
On the protein source for the nectar formula we used: http://www.nekton.de/html/index_eng.html
Nekton is expensive so probably not practical for the casual bird feeder/watcher. You could use one of the collagen (connective tissue between muscle and bone) based liquid supplements or a powdered protein made by Lederle called "Gevral Protein". I suggest that you don't use any soy or milk/whey based products. Soy depending on how it is derived/processed is very inefficient from a digestive perspective and birds digestive tracts and the specific enzymes do not process milk based products well.
Remember, that even nectar feeding birds go completely insectivorous during the breeding season. The increased protein is necessary to support the rapid growth of passerine chicks. From hatch to fledgling is usually 2-3 weeks which is really fast for an altricial (Naked helpless) chick on hatch day to be flying in 3 weeks!
We used to put banana peals and rotten fruit on I gallon cans with one half inch mesh lids. That way the fruit flies etc reproduced and created a great live protein source for our birds but it kept the birds from eating the spoiled fruit.
Enjoy
Will Peratino
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Andrew - 07-12-2006
Hi Will:
Why did you want to keep the birds from eating the spoiled fruit?
Andrew
quote:
but it kept the birds from eating the spoiled fruit.
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - mella l - 07-12-2006
Hi Will. So the the protein source in the 1 gallon cans are accessible for the birds supply of live protein but the fruit is way in the bottom of the can where it can ferment and won't be harmful to the birds?
In the 70's we were told not to use honey in water bottles for babies because of the possibility of fungal contamination. Interesting the same goes for birds. I always use sugar for my feeder and have never used red food coloring. The birds love the stuff here.
On last comment I have is that the domestic Bengal, ALC X domestic feline was developed to help protect the wild cats and study their immunity to leukemia. Shame people from wanting to wear their fur as glamorous coats, mostly produced in China. My understanding is it takes 30 ALC cats to make one coat. An interesting site with info on the birth of the Bengal breed at UC Davis http://www.bengalcat.co.uk/pet/mill/index.htm
Aloha, Mella
mella l
Edited by - mella l on 07/13/2006 07:06:48
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Ironman - 07-13-2006
Andrew/Mella: We all know that the stage of ripeness that we/humans eat fruit is really many times not completely ripe. Birds and other animals usually eat fruit that has fully ripened on the plant of origin or fallen to the ground an is in stage of decomposition. The one gallon cans were filled with banana peals/peaches/melons etc and allowed to putrefy which is the perfect media for fruit fly cultures. The abundance of the fruit flies at that source would attract and provide a cheap and easy to maintain live protein source for the smaller birds. They just sit on top of the wire, sometimes fanning their wings to get the flies to take off trying to escape through the wire mesh and another fast food protein meal was delivered. Spoiled/petrified fruit consumed by most soft billed birds (toucans, turacos, barbets, chloropisis, African sun birds, Brazilian sugar birds, etc) because of the high sugar/alcohol and the presence of aspergillus fungal spores causes intestinal problems not to mention increasing the fluid content and transit time of the fecal material (because the birds body is trying to eliminate the rotten material from the digestive system as quickly as possible) in creates dehydration syndromes.
Make sense?
Will Peratino
RE: Bird feeder is Fun ! - Les C - 07-13-2006
Will, is this to say that the soft-billed birds in the wild would eat spoiled fruit, if any were to last that long, and likewise defecate sooner, creating the possibility of dehydration? I imagine in the zoo situation, you don't want to risk that for the captives. Have any frugivores developed either a resistance or avoidance of aspergillus-laden fruit?
Les