1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum. 2 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Here a hummingbird feeder can be a thrilling addition to 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,159 Speaker 1: any summertime yard. Hummingbirds are vibrant, acrobatic little flyers that 4 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: evolved to eat a lot of natural nectar from flowers 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: to fuel their insanely high metabolism. After all, during flight, 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: they beat their wings an average of fifty times per second. 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: Flowers should provide their primary caloric source, along with a 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: few bugs that they pick off of leaves or snatch 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: from midair to fill out their complement of nutrients. You 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: can look up lists of native plants for your garden 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: to help attract and feed hummingbirds, but you can also 12 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: supplement their caloric needs by feeding hummingbirds with a well 13 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: placed sugar water feeder. Today, let's talk about how to 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: keep a hummingbird feeder that's both entertaining for you and 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: good for the birds. Sugar Water feeders are nice gesture 16 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: for your local hummingbirds. These vessels can help them get 17 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: through the times of year when there aren't as many 18 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: flowers around. However, since feeders are a huge draw for 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: these tiny birds, it's extremely important to keep them clean 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: and safe. Hummingbirds eat by lapping up liquid food at 21 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: lightning speed, using a flexible tongue that's so long that 22 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: it retracts in a coil that rests in their skull 23 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: around their eyes. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red 24 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: because they associate red flowers with higher nutrient nectar. That's 25 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: why many sugar water feeders are made with red plastic pieces, 26 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: but this isn't a requirement, and red food coloring definitely 27 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: should not be used in the sugar water. Unfortunately, hummingbird 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: feeders are great places for bacteria and fungi to grow. 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: Of course, microbial communities are everywhere the sugar water. Hummingbird 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: feeders attract these same kinds of bacteria that you'd find 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: in flowers, in addition to a few more varieties. Most 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: won't cause disease in hummingbirds, but a small fraction of 33 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: them have been associated with a disease called candidiasis, a 34 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: fungal infection that's deadly in hummingbirds. It causes their tongue 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: to swell, making it impossible for the bird to eat. 36 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,239 Speaker 1: But to prevent the possibility of spreading this disease through 37 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: your hummingbird feeders. It's necessary to clean your feeders regularly 38 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: with a non toxic cleaning product like weakened vinegar. Don't 39 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: do this in your kitchen where human food is prepared. 40 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: Birds can carry diseases that can make humans sick. Hummingbird 41 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: feeders should be cleaned every three to five days, or 42 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: more frequently in hot summer weather. Most feeders can be 43 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: completely disassembled so that they can be thoroughly cleaned inside 44 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: and out. Avoid using any kind of soaper detergent, though, 45 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: as those can leave a harmful residue. Hummingbird feeders should 46 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: contain only this homemade hummingbird food recipe, a mixture of 47 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: four parts of water to one part of her fire 48 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: white sugar. The sugar water should be boiled and then 49 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: cooled before adding it to the feeder. Irregular tapwater, well water, 50 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: or bottled spring water are all perfectly fine to use. 51 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: Although hummingbird feeders are completely safe and even helpful for 52 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: the birds, there are things that you definitely shouldn't do, 53 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: many of which have been offered as well meaning advice 54 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: in the past and since been scientifically disproven. So here 55 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: are some pointers don't use distilled water to make the food, 56 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: as it's stripped of natural minerals, and don't use water 57 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: processed through a water softener, as water softeners can add 58 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: certain salts and minerals that aren't good for the birds. 59 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: Don't add red food, coloring, or dyve any kind to 60 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: your recipe. It's not necessary to attract hummingbirds, and the 61 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: chemicals in the dye aren't good for the birds. In fact, 62 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: don't add anything to the water in your homemade nectar 63 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: except for that granulated white sugar. So do not add honey, 64 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: nor brown sugar, nor molasses, nor any sort of artificial sweetener. 65 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: A When mixed with water, honey and molasses can create 66 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: a breeding ground for potentially fatal bacteria and mold to grow. Again, 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 1: the best hummingbird nectar recipe is just one part granulated 68 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: white sugar mixed with four parts of clean water. Also, 69 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,919 Speaker 1: don't spend your money on commercial hummingbird nectars. Many of 70 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: these concoctions contain preservatives, additives, and dyes that can harm 71 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: the birds. Using your own safe and inexpensive nectar recipe 72 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: means there's no reason to buy commercial ones. Finally, always 73 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: place your clean hummingbird feeder in a shady spot, preferably 74 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: in front of a windows that you can sit back 75 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: and enjoy the show while feeding these amazing birds safely. 76 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: Some hummingbirds do migrate, spending winters in warmer latitudes and 77 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 1: heading back into cooler areas to breed in the spring. 78 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: Research has shown that they can fly non stop for 79 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: over one thousand miles some one thousand, four hundred miles 80 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: to be slightly more exact, that's about two thousand, two 81 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: hundred kilometers as the hummingbird flies. That's the equivalent of 82 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: flying without a break from Atlanta to Albuquerque, from Beirut 83 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: to Budapest, or from Tokyo to Taipei, to give you 84 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: an idea to scale here. Full grown specimens of the 85 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: ruby throated hummingbird usually measure about three inches that's nearly 86 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,119 Speaker 1: eight centimeters long, meaning that they can fly a mind 87 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,919 Speaker 1: boggling twenty nine million times the length of their body 88 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: in one go. Relative to human body size. That'd be 89 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: like Superman leaping into the air and taking one and 90 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: a half trips around the globe before landing again. And 91 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: the furthest migrating hummingbirds travel some three thousand, five hundred 92 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: miles during each seasonal trip. That's about five thousand, six 93 00:05:53,839 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: hundred kilometers. Today's have pisode is based on the article 94 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: HOWD make Hummingbird food Safely and Responsively on HowStuffWorks dot com, 95 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: written by Jesslinshields. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in 96 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com. It's produced by Tyler Klang. 97 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Before more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 98 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.