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According to the Garden Route Bird Relief Program there are a lot of old wives tales around this and
people mean well and don’t know any better. It is very important to keep the nectar as natural as possi-
ble and to not add any food colouring, fruit juice, honey, oros, marmite, bovril, molasses or any other
artificial sweeteners to the mixture. There is absolutely no need to colour the water as the red spout is
more than enough to attract the birds (now I know why these feeders have red spouts!). Should you
however have a feeder bottle that does not have a red spout, you can always attract the birds by tying a
red ribbon around the spout.
See, even an old bird like me is never too old to learn! You will even spot the red nectar in the above
picture … this was before I learnt about this valuable information!
Making your own bird nectar is very easy and a sure treat to the birds!
Picture with courtesy of the Garden Route Bird Relief Program (Facebook) – permission obtained
Each and every one of us can make a difference in
the environment by setting up small feeding sta-
tions for our feathered friends. Small actions have
huge effects!
And always remember … you might not change
the world, but you will certainly change the world
of our little feathered friends. Experiencing the
sheer joy of them feeding and listening to their
happy chirps, is a true blessing and brings a sense
of ecstatic happiness to the soul.
Please help our little feathered friends. Be sweet and feed a tweet!
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