Hummingbirds in Shreveport are Being Killed Because of This Mistake
There is Nothing Like Seeing a Hummingbird Zip Infront of You.
I still get giddy when I spot one in the wild. It's just as exciting as seeing a shooting star. I love seeing hummingbird feeders around because it means that there is a chance that a hummingbird will make its presence known. There is something that we humans are doing that could put these beautiful creatures in danger.
There was a post shared on a Shreveport neighborhood page that caught my attention. The person who shared it said, "I am so grateful to now know this I almost put honey in my hummingbird feeder." I thought that "natural sugar" like honey was totally fine for hummingbirds, it turns out I was so wrong and a mistake like putting honey in a feeder could kill a hummingbird.
Only Use Plain White Sugar in Hummingbird Feeders.
"PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
on Behalf of Hummingbirds:
This hummingbird is unable to retract her tongue due to fungal spores that have germinated on her tongue or in her gullet caused by folks mixing honey or anything other than plain white sugar with water. She will die because she can no longer feed.
If you have feeders, PLEASE USE ONLY PLAIN WHITE SUGAR in your mixture of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. No organic or raw or brown sugar, no powdered sugar, no honey, no artificial sugar. Use plain white sugar/water mixture which is most similar to actual flower nectar. And no toxic red color liquids such as Koolaid etc..!
Change the sugar water mixture every couple of days, especially during high temperatures, as it will start to ferment if it sits out for days on end.
If you can't or won't do this, please do not put out a feeder at all."