What's a hummingbird officianado?

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:50:26 GMT, Suzie-Q
wrote:

In article ,
"Perry Templeton" wrote:

- Regarding the red dye myth..(undetermined)
- http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/reddye.htm
- I am a hummingbird afficianado. I've had a researcher come to my house,
- catch and record information (weight, feathers, size, etc) and release the
- little critters. Nothing was ever mentioned about red dye. And I have been
- using red dye for years, and know for a fact that I have hummers returning
- year after year.

http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeder.html

--QUOTE--
Please, do not put honey, Jell-O, brown sugar, fruit, or red food coloring in
your feeder! Honey ferments rapidly when diluted with water and can kill
hummingbirds. The effects of red dye have not been not scientifically tested,
and it is not necessary to color the water to attract birds to your feeder.
Further, there are unverified reports that red dye can cause tumors in
hummingbirds; this may or may not be true, but why take the chance?
--END QUOTE--