I inadvertently ended up in a bit of a "jam" this past week.
I posted a photo of a female hummingbird on a Facebook page for Pennsylvania birdwatchers. The hummingbird had perched on an oriole feeder that was filled with grape jelly.
Amid the comments of “cute photo” was a warning about hummingbirds and grape jelly from a group based in Antigo, Wisconsin.
“Earlier this week Raptor Education Group Inc. (REGI) admitted three adult ruby-throated hummingbirds from different areas, within a two-hour period.
"They were covered in grape jelly.
"One patient was deceased on arrival; the others are alive but struggling,” the post claimed.
The post went on to take to task the practice of providing grape jelly to orioles instead of orange slices.
I posted a photo of a female hummingbird on a Facebook page for Pennsylvania birdwatchers. The hummingbird had perched on an oriole feeder that was filled with grape jelly.
Amid the comments of “cute photo” was a warning about hummingbirds and grape jelly from a group based in Antigo, Wisconsin.
“Earlier this week Raptor Education Group Inc. (REGI) admitted three adult ruby-throated hummingbirds from different areas, within a two-hour period.
"They were covered in grape jelly.
"One patient was deceased on arrival; the others are alive but struggling,” the post claimed.
The post went on to take to task the practice of providing grape jelly to orioles instead of orange slices.
 |  |
“Grape jelly was a convenient energy food as it is a ‘semi solid’ substance even in colder temperatures and easy to keep contained in a bowl. It provides a quick source of energy during migration. But then…for whatever reason, the use of jelly … morphed into a multi-species, year-round jelly feeding frenzied fad. A problem in hot weather is jelly ‘melts i.e. liquifies’ somewhat and therefore more available to adhere to the birds body, feet and feathers,” the post continued.
REGI debated the feeding of high sugar jelly verses the healthier orange slices.
REGI debated the feeding of high sugar jelly verses the healthier orange slices.
“It would be good if we could stop feeding jelly to birds year-round,” REGI posted.
However, the group also mentioned that “Bird safer jelly is available at specialty stores such as Wild Birds Unlimited. These stores work hard to assure safe food and safe feeders as well and will evaluate their safety”.
The group went on to write that they “are in the process of figuring out why this is happening to hummers in particular, but do not have all the answers.”
The post had many, many shares and was even picked up by some news outlets. However, my search of the internet didn’t turn up any more jelly-related incidents other than the three hummingbirds mentioned in the post.
However, the group also mentioned that “Bird safer jelly is available at specialty stores such as Wild Birds Unlimited. These stores work hard to assure safe food and safe feeders as well and will evaluate their safety”.
The group went on to write that they “are in the process of figuring out why this is happening to hummers in particular, but do not have all the answers.”
The post had many, many shares and was even picked up by some news outlets. However, my search of the internet didn’t turn up any more jelly-related incidents other than the three hummingbirds mentioned in the post.
So, I reached out to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, and received a response from Project Feeder Watch Assistant Anne Marie Johnson.
“We saw the same story you did, and like you, we aren’t aware of other examples of this sort of thing happening,” Johnson wrote in an email.
“Nevertheless, we generally recommend only feeding birds foods found in nature or foods manufactured by reputable suppliers specifically for feeding wild birds. We recommend feeding orioles nectar or fresh fruit like oranges or cut up grapes,” Johnson penned.
“We saw the same story you did, and like you, we aren’t aware of other examples of this sort of thing happening,” Johnson wrote in an email.
“Nevertheless, we generally recommend only feeding birds foods found in nature or foods manufactured by reputable suppliers specifically for feeding wild birds. We recommend feeding orioles nectar or fresh fruit like oranges or cut up grapes,” Johnson penned.
“Any processed food produced for human consumption can have ingredients that are dangerous for birds or that have not been tested for safety in wild birds. One exception is table sugar for making nectar, which has been tested and found to be safe for hummingbirds and orioles,” she added.
She additionally pointed out that the REGI post mentioned that “some wild bird food manufacturers are producing jelly for feeding to wild birds, including Wild Birds Unlimited, and those products should be safe.”
She additionally pointed out that the REGI post mentioned that “some wild bird food manufacturers are producing jelly for feeding to wild birds, including Wild Birds Unlimited, and those products should be safe.”
So, for some backyard birders the jury may still out on feeding grape jelly to orioles. However, there are some options to a potentially harmful substance to both hummingbirds and orioles. I switched out some of the jelly for some cut up grapes and they quickly disappeared from the feeder.
That’s just the nature of things round here.
That’s just the nature of things round here.
RSS Feed