Greetings:

During the past two days I have put broken bits of banana chips (Trader Joe's
brand) and raisins out on my balcony along with hulled sunflower seeds (I use
hulled sunflower seeds to avoid the abundance of debris which will fall
through the cracks onto my downstairs neighbor's balcony, and all the birds
certainly seem to relish them sans the shell.). The banana chips disappear very
fast! I have yet to spot the particular birds in the act, but I suspect the chips
are being eaten by either the woodpeckers (Downy, Harry, or Flicker) or the
Varied Thrushes that have also been coming up to my balcony as well as foraging
on the ground where I also toss seed and goodies. I do suspect birds rather
than the squirrels, since the chips are gone before the squirrels arrive to
get their share (and more) of the sunflower seeds.

On to my question....I checked the label to see what ingredients are in the
banana chips; actually I was checking the calorie content since I really relish
this treat also, especially when dipped in a mixture of melted chocolate
chips, swirled with marshmallow cream, and crunchy peanut butter! The birds don't
get the chocolate dip!! Smiles!! The chips have some added sugar and honey.
The honey is the ingredient that concerns me, because I remember reading that
one should never give honey to hummingbirds. Does this hold true for other
birds? I certainly don't want to put out any more of this delicacy if it is
not good for the feasters. The chips don't really have a particularly sweet
taste to me.

Thanks! Judy

Judy Rowe Taylor
Mukilteo, WA
caratfeathers at aol.com
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