----- Original Message -----
From: Roger <rcraik at home.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, 05 August, 1999 9:47 PM
Subject: Fw: Hummingbird Sugar


> Hi All
>
> I am forwarding this as a general interest item. It has made it's way via
> New York and Florida.
>
> Roger Craik
> Maple Ridge BC
> rcraik at home.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: George Houghton <geh5 at cornell.edu>
> To: Upstate NY Birding <CAYUGABIRDS-L at cornell.edu>
> Sent: Thursday, 05 August, 1999 2:32 PM
> Subject: Hummingbird Sugar
>
>
> > Hummingbirds/case sugar/beet sugar
> > A bird detective account by the team of Jo and George Houghton
> >
> > FIRST FROM JO:
> >
> > Since we've had some inquiries about the cane sugar/hummingbird
> > recommendations, it's time to make time to post the account.
> >
> > We use a lot of granulated white sugar every season for our ever-growing
> > population of hummingbirds, so the sugar is bought in lots of 5 or 10
bags
> > when there is a good sale in the supermarkets year. Until this year, I
> > always figured granulated sugar was granulated sugar, and bought
whatever.
> >
> > This spring, the birds began arriving as usual, thin and hungry from
> > migration and the feeders went out. There's little in nectar sources as
> > early as the ruby-throats come, in fact they feed at yellow-bellied
> > sapsucker feeding holes, and at broken branches of sugar maples and
other
> > trees (as do chickadees, early warblers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, etc.).
> > Traffic at the feeders was heavy.
> >
> > About the time that the black locust trees bloomed (and there wasn't
much
> > else in flower at all), all the hummingbirds were suddenly gone from the
> > feeders. We have almost no black locust anywhere near us, and I
couldn't
> > think of any good nectar sources around at that time. The drought was
> > already in gear here too. My first (and worst) fear was that some
> chemical
> > had blown in from the neighboring farm fields, and the birds were
> repelled,
> > or even dead. I made new nectar. I cleaned the feeders. No change, no
> > birds. I did it again. I worried. A population of birds we've watched
> > and cared for for over 2 decades (and watched their behaviors change as
> > well) was gone.
> >
> > Watching the feeders very carefully, I noticed that birds did come in,
and
> > acted oddly. A bird would taste, fly up and fly around, chitter a lot,
as
> > they ordinarily do when they see a rival, or a missing feeder (being
> > cleaned/filled) or a person too close, or - horrors - a cat napping on
the
> > porch, and flash off. Suddenly the sugar was suspect. Could the
bag/bags
> > have been contaminated with something, or the paper of the bags? Did we
> > have tiny "canaries in the coal mines" here? All the bags were the same
> > brand and the same lot numbers - a very good sale.
> >
> > I got a different bag of sugar, different brand, though still
> > generic/unlabeled as to sugar type, cleaned the feeders, made new
> solution.
> > In less thatn 24 hours, there were very hungry hummingbirds everywhere.
> > YES!!!
> >
> > The possibility of a big coincidence dropped sharply the following day,
in
> > this way. Feeding had been so heavy that a popular feeder (on the
porch -
> > easy to observe) was emptied, so I made up just a 2 cup batch, quick to
> > cool, to fill that one until I could do a big batch. I'd been making
the
> > new solution out of the new bag, but forgot and used the old surplus
sugar
> > which is still in the canister. Suddenly that one popular feeder was
> > totally shunned - feeding at the others continued hot and heavy.
Bingo -
> > Ccllaborating data.
> >
> > OVER TO GEORGE:
> >
> > I wanted to find out what might be happening here so, since it was
> Wegman's
> > sugar, I called Wegmans. They gave most impressive help in tracking
down
> > the problem. I want to thank them greatly for their help.
> >
> > First I called the local store and gave them the lot number. They
checked
> > the shelves and found no lot numbers where we had found them. Then I
> > called Rochester and talked to Judy Carey in consumer service. She
> checked
> > with 2 suppliers and the lot number didn't make sense to either. They
had
> > no explanation. I sent her the bag with the lot number and a sample of
> > sugar and after a day or two she called back with the solution to the
> mystery.
> >
> > By then she had checked with a third supplier and they recognized the
lot
> > number. First of all, when a bag is labeled "Granulated Sugar", it can
be
> > either cane or beet depending on availability at the moment. The
supplier
> > then told her that they had been supplying the owner of a large ranch in
> > Texas who feeds hummers on a large scale and bought his sugar directly
> from
> > the supplier. He had observed that Hummers could apparently "Taste" the
> > difference between cane and beet and rejected beet. The supplier now
> > provides him with exclusively cane sugar.
> >
> > Apparently we had been using beet sugar. We started buying only bags
that
> > are labeled "Cane" and it is gleefully accepted.
> >
> > Thanks again Wegmans, and particularly Judy Carey, for your assistance
in
> > this endeavor.
> >
> > BACK TO JO:
> >
> > Thinking back over the years, I realize that there have been other times
> > when hummingbirds left the feeders en masse for periods of time. I
> > remember worrying, talking to people, reading, and finally (with hope)
> > concluding that there was some wonderful copious nectar source in bloom
> > somewhere around. Other people asked me about similar observations,
> saying
> > they've put out a feeder/feeders where they've seen birds, but the birds
> > don't use the feeders. A couple of people said they made their own
> > hummingbird food, feeders went unused, so they bought commercial
nectars,
> > and got hummingbirds.
> >
> > Probably in past events of this kind, I'd used up the beet sugar
quickly,
> > making jam, canning, baking for a party, for the freezer, things I do
less
> > now, Maybe I didn't have the cash to buy 30 or 40 lbs. of sugar at one,
> > however good, sale. And this year the obvious, partly drought-driven
lack
> > of natyural nectar sources made the need for a new, and this time
accurate
> > explanation apparent.
> >
> > The only sugar I'm buying now is Domino brand which is labeled "CANE";
> > however, not all Domino sugar is labeled "CANE".
> >
> > There was a question about sucanate sugar, which I think is made by a
kind
> > of slow drying out, rather than crystallization, as regular granulated
> > sugar is made (or at least finished). It is very expensive compared to
> > regular granulated cane sugar. I don't see how it would be better, and
if
> > it were made from sugar beets, rather than cane, it would likely also be
> > rejected by hummingbirds. It's "unbleached" look is from stuff left in
> > that is left behind in crystallization, I think.
> >
> > As a one time fancy candy and tricky boiled frosting maker, I remember
> that
> > some of these don't work well, or at all, with anything but cane sugar.
> >
> > A final note: As we send this, the little guys are swarming onto our
> > balcony to stoke up for the night. It's quite a sight.
> >
> > Jo and George
> >
> >
> > George Houghton
> >
> > 79 Yaple Rd. 607-539-7320 geh5 at cornell.edu
> > Berkshire, N.Y. 13736-2030 (Actually live in Caroline, near Ithaca, NY)
> >
> >
>