WEBVTT - How Do You Make Hummingbird Food Safely?

0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:08.400
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum.

0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:13.360
<v Speaker 1>Here a hummingbird feeder can be a thrilling addition to

0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:18.159
<v Speaker 1>any summertime yard. Hummingbirds are vibrant, acrobatic little flyers that

0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.280
<v Speaker 1>evolved to eat a lot of natural nectar from flowers

0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:26.320
<v Speaker 1>to fuel their insanely high metabolism. After all, during flight,

0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.360
<v Speaker 1>they beat their wings an average of fifty times per second.

0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.839
<v Speaker 1>Flowers should provide their primary caloric source, along with a

0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.200
<v Speaker 1>few bugs that they pick off of leaves or snatch

0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:40.440
<v Speaker 1>from midair to fill out their complement of nutrients. You

0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:42.680
<v Speaker 1>can look up lists of native plants for your garden

0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.680
<v Speaker 1>to help attract and feed hummingbirds, but you can also

0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.040
<v Speaker 1>supplement their caloric needs by feeding hummingbirds with a well

0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.240
<v Speaker 1>placed sugar water feeder. Today, let's talk about how to

0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.080
<v Speaker 1>keep a hummingbird feeder that's both entertaining for you and

0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.880
<v Speaker 1>good for the birds. Sugar Water feeders are nice gesture

0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.160
<v Speaker 1>for your local hummingbirds. These vessels can help them get

0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:05.960
<v Speaker 1>through the times of year when there aren't as many

0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:09.760
<v Speaker 1>flowers around. However, since feeders are a huge draw for

0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:13.160
<v Speaker 1>these tiny birds, it's extremely important to keep them clean

0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:18.480
<v Speaker 1>and safe. Hummingbirds eat by lapping up liquid food at

0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.200
<v Speaker 1>lightning speed, using a flexible tongue that's so long that

0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:25.120
<v Speaker 1>it retracts in a coil that rests in their skull

0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:29.400
<v Speaker 1>around their eyes. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red

0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.720
<v Speaker 1>because they associate red flowers with higher nutrient nectar. That's

0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.920
<v Speaker 1>why many sugar water feeders are made with red plastic pieces,

0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:41.000
<v Speaker 1>but this isn't a requirement, and red food coloring definitely

0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:46.720
<v Speaker 1>should not be used in the sugar water. Unfortunately, hummingbird

0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.080
<v Speaker 1>feeders are great places for bacteria and fungi to grow.

0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:54.480
<v Speaker 1>Of course, microbial communities are everywhere the sugar water. Hummingbird

0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.120
<v Speaker 1>feeders attract these same kinds of bacteria that you'd find

0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.720
<v Speaker 1>in flowers, in addition to a few more varieties. Most

0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:04.400
<v Speaker 1>won't cause disease in hummingbirds, but a small fraction of

0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.840
<v Speaker 1>them have been associated with a disease called candidiasis, a

0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:11.960
<v Speaker 1>fungal infection that's deadly in hummingbirds. It causes their tongue

0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.760
<v Speaker 1>to swell, making it impossible for the bird to eat.

0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.239
<v Speaker 1>But to prevent the possibility of spreading this disease through

0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:23.120
<v Speaker 1>your hummingbird feeders. It's necessary to clean your feeders regularly

0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:27.600
<v Speaker 1>with a non toxic cleaning product like weakened vinegar. Don't

0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.920
<v Speaker 1>do this in your kitchen where human food is prepared.

0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:34.600
<v Speaker 1>Birds can carry diseases that can make humans sick. Hummingbird

0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.400
<v Speaker 1>feeders should be cleaned every three to five days, or

0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.840
<v Speaker 1>more frequently in hot summer weather. Most feeders can be

0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.200
<v Speaker 1>completely disassembled so that they can be thoroughly cleaned inside

0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.600
<v Speaker 1>and out. Avoid using any kind of soaper detergent, though,

0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:52.840
<v Speaker 1>as those can leave a harmful residue. Hummingbird feeders should

0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:57.600
<v Speaker 1>contain only this homemade hummingbird food recipe, a mixture of

0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.000
<v Speaker 1>four parts of water to one part of her fire

0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.600
<v Speaker 1>white sugar. The sugar water should be boiled and then

0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:07.840
<v Speaker 1>cooled before adding it to the feeder. Irregular tapwater, well water,

0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:10.760
<v Speaker 1>or bottled spring water are all perfectly fine to use.

0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.920
<v Speaker 1>Although hummingbird feeders are completely safe and even helpful for

0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:19.000
<v Speaker 1>the birds, there are things that you definitely shouldn't do,

0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.000
<v Speaker 1>many of which have been offered as well meaning advice

0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.240
<v Speaker 1>in the past and since been scientifically disproven. So here

0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:31.720
<v Speaker 1>are some pointers don't use distilled water to make the food,

0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.120
<v Speaker 1>as it's stripped of natural minerals, and don't use water

0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:38.480
<v Speaker 1>processed through a water softener, as water softeners can add

0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:41.360
<v Speaker 1>certain salts and minerals that aren't good for the birds.

0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.360
<v Speaker 1>Don't add red food, coloring, or dyve any kind to

0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:49.000
<v Speaker 1>your recipe. It's not necessary to attract hummingbirds, and the

0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:53.240
<v Speaker 1>chemicals in the dye aren't good for the birds. In fact,

0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.040
<v Speaker 1>don't add anything to the water in your homemade nectar

0:03:56.200 --> 0:04:00.560
<v Speaker 1>except for that granulated white sugar. So do not add honey,

0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:05.000
<v Speaker 1>nor brown sugar, nor molasses, nor any sort of artificial sweetener.

0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.600
<v Speaker 1>A When mixed with water, honey and molasses can create

0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:13.400
<v Speaker 1>a breeding ground for potentially fatal bacteria and mold to grow. Again,

0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:17.280
<v Speaker 1>the best hummingbird nectar recipe is just one part granulated

0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:22.400
<v Speaker 1>white sugar mixed with four parts of clean water. Also,

0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.919
<v Speaker 1>don't spend your money on commercial hummingbird nectars. Many of

0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.960
<v Speaker 1>these concoctions contain preservatives, additives, and dyes that can harm

0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.279
<v Speaker 1>the birds. Using your own safe and inexpensive nectar recipe

0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:39.320
<v Speaker 1>means there's no reason to buy commercial ones. Finally, always

0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:43.039
<v Speaker 1>place your clean hummingbird feeder in a shady spot, preferably

0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:44.840
<v Speaker 1>in front of a windows that you can sit back

0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:48.120
<v Speaker 1>and enjoy the show while feeding these amazing birds safely.

0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.560
<v Speaker 1>Some hummingbirds do migrate, spending winters in warmer latitudes and

0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.160
<v Speaker 1>heading back into cooler areas to breed in the spring.

0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.599
<v Speaker 1>Research has shown that they can fly non stop for

0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.760
<v Speaker 1>over one thousand miles some one thousand, four hundred miles

0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:06.360
<v Speaker 1>to be slightly more exact, that's about two thousand, two

0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.920
<v Speaker 1>hundred kilometers as the hummingbird flies. That's the equivalent of

0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:14.760
<v Speaker 1>flying without a break from Atlanta to Albuquerque, from Beirut

0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:19.200
<v Speaker 1>to Budapest, or from Tokyo to Taipei, to give you

0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.320
<v Speaker 1>an idea to scale here. Full grown specimens of the

0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:26.400
<v Speaker 1>ruby throated hummingbird usually measure about three inches that's nearly

0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:30.119
<v Speaker 1>eight centimeters long, meaning that they can fly a mind

0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:33.919
<v Speaker 1>boggling twenty nine million times the length of their body

0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:37.960
<v Speaker 1>in one go. Relative to human body size. That'd be

0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:40.880
<v Speaker 1>like Superman leaping into the air and taking one and

0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:45.760
<v Speaker 1>a half trips around the globe before landing again. And

0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:50.080
<v Speaker 1>the furthest migrating hummingbirds travel some three thousand, five hundred

0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.760
<v Speaker 1>miles during each seasonal trip. That's about five thousand, six

0:05:53.839 --> 0:06:01.200
<v Speaker 1>hundred kilometers. Today's have pisode is based on the article

0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.000
<v Speaker 1>HOWD make Hummingbird food Safely and Responsively on HowStuffWorks dot com,

0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.360
<v Speaker 1>written by Jesslinshields. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in

0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.400
<v Speaker 1>partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com. It's produced by Tyler Klang.

0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.960
<v Speaker 1>Before more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.000
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.