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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
While deploring the calories I was ingesting in the form of peanut butter, I was reminded how vital high caloric value can be to migratory birds. I have read that the hummingbirds what cross the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to the Yucatan peninsula store a special fat with 18 cal/gm.
Human fat is 9cal/gm if I remember correctly.
Then there is the godwit with migrates 7,000 miles from Alaska nonstop to New Zealand.I wonder how many miles per gm of fat they get.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
"Gotta get my wing feathers tuned up, only getting 68 miles to the gram this fall. Maybe a tail overhaul as well."
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
Zed:  Dr. Bill: boy, that's a tough subject to search! no luck so far... I guess I need more calories... 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear etaoin: I can't find that special fat thing again. All I can find is that average weight is 3 gm, about doubled before migration, and down to 2.5 on arrival. Remember too, no way they can drink. May make a bit of water by burning caolories. But 18 hours non-stop, that's amazing.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
we usually have a small group of three or five hummers each summer. lovely little noisy things! unbelieveable how far they travel. we have their arrival and departure dates on our calendar for several years back.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
The hummingbirds here are dumpy figured drab gray. They ignored the syrup feeder I put out, and spent all their time checking the row of tall slender evergreen Italian cypress. I knew they could find no aphids there, and had to look at my bird CD to discover that the eat a lot of tiny spiders, and that's what they were looking for.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Here is a good URL about bird migration. It mentions "a special fat" but does not give figure for caloric value.
[url]whyfiles.org/006migration/fact_sheet.html[url]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear WW: here is an article I think will interest you. It points out that exotic plants and trees do not promote growth of insects birds need for food. One more bad thing about ailanthus? http://www.fow.org/wildlifecomm.htm
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