{"id":603,"date":"2025-06-10T18:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/audiomateria.com\/?p=603"},"modified":"2025-06-12T11:01:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T11:01:24","slug":"you-might-accidentally-be-killing-hummingbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/audiomateria.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/you-might-accidentally-be-killing-hummingbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"You might accidentally be killing hummingbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A hummingbird in Long Island, New York. | Bruce Bennett\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Support independent journalism that matters \u2014 become a Vox Member today<\/a>. For a limited time, you can get more than 30% your membership.<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

Hummingbirds run on sugar. <\/p>\n

Sweet nectar powers their tiny, furious bodies and super-fast wings, which beat as many as 80 to 90 times per second. And luckily for them, they don\u2019t seem to get diabetes<\/a>, even though they have extremely high blood glucose levels.  <\/p>\n

In the wild, hummingbirds, the smallest birds in the world, get their sugar from wildflowers, such as honeysuckle, lilies, and bee balm. But following the sweeping destruction of native prairies<\/a>, forests, and wetlands over the last century, these fluttering jewels have had a more difficult time finding their glucose fix. Warming linked to climate change is also making flowers bloom earlier<\/a> and changing the range of some hummingbird species<\/a>, making it even harder for the birds to feed.<\/p>\n

While humans are, of course, responsible for these impacts, some wildlife lovers are also trying to help \u2014 by <\/strong>installing feeders. Often red and plastic and filled with sugar water, hummingbird feeders provide a supplementary source of nectar for hummingbirds, especially during fall and spring migration when the birds are traveling long distances. Research shows that feeders may increase<\/a> the number of hummingbirds locally, and birds tend to visit them more<\/a> when there are fewer flowers in bloom. <\/p>\n

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Send us a tip or share feedback<\/h2>\n

Do you have a tip about wildlife or feedback on this story to share? Reach out to Vox environmental correspondent Benji Jones on Signal at benji.90 or at\u00a0benji.jones@vox.com<\/a>\u00a0or at\u00a0benjijones@protonmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So on the whole, feeders are good. They also provide an easy way for people to connect with wildlife. <\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one big, big, <\/em>caveat here: If your feeder is dirty, it could be harming, or even killing, the hummers that visit it, turning the feeder from a lifeline into a trap. Unless you\u2019re prepared to regularly clean your feeder, you may be better off not having one. <\/p>\n

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Dirty feeders can be deadly<\/h2>\n

The problem is simple: If sugar water is left out too long, it will spoil, meaning it will attract and grow microbes. Some of those microbes are bad and can cause infections, including candida \u2014 a type of yeast that causes yeast infections in humans and, apparently, in hummingbirds. <\/p>\n

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When hummers contract fungal infections, their tongues swell and become difficult to retract. That can put them at risk of starvation<\/a>. Infected birds also sometimes appear with lesions on their beak or more generally lethargic, said Melanie Furr, a licensed wildlife rehabber who works with Wild Nest Bird Rehab<\/a> in Georgia. <\/p>\n

One study published in 2019<\/a> found that most microbes in feeders are not dangerous to hummingbirds. And it\u2019s unlikely that dirty feeders are causing population-wide declines of birds, said Don Powers, a professor emeritus at George Fox University who\u2019s studied hummingbirds for decades. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s still \u201cfairly common\u201d for individual birds to be sickened by them, <\/strong>Furr told me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it boils down to the fact that most people are not cleaning their feeders or refreshing their nectar as often as they should,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Other wildlife rehabbers<\/a> have similarly indicated that many adult and baby hummingbirds are in need of rescue because of feeder-related infections. Furr says antifungal medication can clear up the infection and make them healthy enough for release.<\/p>\n

Just as the problem is simple, the solution is thankfully simple, too. <\/p>\n

How to set up and clean a feeder<\/h2>\n

There are two key components to a healthy hummingbird feeder: the right recipe and regular cleaning. Both are incredibly straightforward. <\/p>\n

Recipe <\/h3>\n

Mix 1 part refined white sugar with 4 parts drinking water, such as \u00bc cup sugar with 1 cup water. Dissolve over heat and cool.  <\/p>\n

Important notes: <\/p>\n