[Tweeters] Do hummingbirds drink alcohol? More often than you think: Flowers, backyard feeders likely provide hummingbirds with alcohol, thanks to fermenting yeast -- ScienceDaily

[Gary Bletsch]

Dear Tweeters,

A bunch of birds got drunk at my feeders once. As a kid, I received a pamphlet from the NY State agricultural extension office, or whatever it was called. The paper explained how one could make a sort of scarecrow bird-feeder, dressing it up in one's old clothes. The idea was, after the birds got used to feeding on a human figure made of pieces of wood and adorned with clothing, one could take the feeder down, wash the clothes, put them on, and stand in the yard. Then the birds would just come and land on the person, thinking it was the same old scarecrow. I made the seed-holders out of some plastic tops that I took off some spent cans of spray-paint. I should have put drain holes in the caps. The seed fermented, and a few days later, all sorts of sparrows, chickadees, and other birds were lolling about in the back yard, plastered out of their avian wits. I took down the feeder and washed the clothes, as per directions, but I think the birds were so hung over that they steered clear of me, despite my garb.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email.

------- Original Message -------
On Saturday, June 24th, 2023 at 8:35 PM, HAL MICHAEL <ucd880 at comcast.net> wrote:


> Hummingbirds can be very picky. Their preference is for the red wines, the darker the better. In a pinch they well go for a rose'.

>

> Actually many birds and mammals get drunk on fermented fruit. I have seen one rather soused Black Bear in Yellowstone and read about some buck deer that were blitzed. I read, a long time ago, about some drunk Cedar Waxwings "sleeping it off" by lying on a branch with the legs hanging down on each side.

>

> Hal Michael

> Board of Directors, [Ecologists Without Borders](http://ecowb.org/)

> Olympia WA

> 360-459-4005

> 360-791-7702 (C)

> ucd880 at comcast.net

>

>> On 06/24/2023 4:57 PM PDT Alan Roedell <alanroedell at gmail.com> wrote:

>>

>> Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

>>

>> On Sat, Jun 24, 2023, 3:35 PM Dan Reiff <dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com> wrote:

>>

>>> https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230622142345.htm

>>>

>>> Sent from my iPhone

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