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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Eating exotic birds
I must admit to eating some exotic birds when I was young and crazy. In the summer of 86 I joined a very strict order of Bhuddist monks in a retreat
high on a scarp in the middle of nowhere. We took a vow to pass the season eating nothing but hummingbird livers -- the meagar fare was delivered to
the village by an outsider, a wretched creature named Knor who it was rumored killed the birds with a rustic miniature shotgun with a range of about
a meter. His name was never spoken aloud.
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bajario
Nomad
Posts: 260
Registered: 1-7-2008
Location: Cardiff
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If his name was never spoken alound how'd you know it was Knor?
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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We had scribes.
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3531
Registered: 8-27-2003
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Is the "K" silent?
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bajamigo
Super Nomad
Posts: 1218
Registered: 6-17-2006
Location: Punta Banda, BC
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Mood: hubimos llegado
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Pull my other leg; it's got bells on it.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Santiago, it is not nown.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Santiago
Is the "K" silent? |
Every time I see this brand name, I ask myself the same question:
http://www.sagoodies.com/WebRoot/Store8/Shops/61871791/490F/...
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MikeYounghusband
Nomad
Posts: 213
Registered: 8-27-2008
Location: Loreto, Baja Cal. Sur
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Mood: Always ready for more
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Good way to loose weight.
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djh
Senior Nomad
Posts: 936
Registered: 1-2-2005
Location: Earth mostly. Loreto, N. ID, Big Island
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Mood: Mellow fellow, plays a yellow cello...
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If you only ate the livers, how'd you get so many feathers up yer . . . . ?
Its all just stuff and some numbers.
A day spent sailing isn\'t deducted from one\'s life.
Peace, Love, and Music
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Dennis, the K is spoken but not the first R.
I use their products. Find them very tasty. I think it's a Knorrwegian company.
[Edited on 9-25-2011 by Osprey]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
Dennis, the K is spoken but not the first R. |
Thanks Jorge. All of a sudden, it's as clear as a bell. [whatever that means] 
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
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Osprey, would you be a dear old bird and dig up your story of the hummindbirds an' Prozac-laced Pepto Bismol for us birdbrains, pleeze?
Khud you?
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Y Knot?
"Brother, Can You Spare Some Sugar"
Lynda lost all of her approval (or disapproval) power when she died two years ago. Well, almost all. Now, mostly I do what I want. I did get crazy
for awhile after she died and I did some things I wish I could take back -- especially the thing with Julio. Move on, don't dwell. That's the secret.
So I don't consider how she would feel about what I'm doing with the hummingbirds, with the feeders.
We always had at least two feeders going on the patio. She made up the sugar water, I filled them, watched to make sure they were never empty for
very long. She gave me the simple recipe and when she was not around I would boil the water, mix it up; four parts water, one part sugar. We would
buy the coarse-ground sugar at the little store behind the church -- five pesos a kilo, we could afford it.
Needless to say, the birds love the feeders. All my gringo neighbors in this little part of Mexico have the same kinds of feeders and enjoy watching
the birds drink, flit about, squabble over the right to drink, the territory, prospective mates, nesting areas nearby. Larger and more mature birds
are able to frighten off smaller species or young birds, keep them from drinking. It took me awhile to find out the biggest of the hummers in this
area are called Xantus. They comprise almost 80 percent of the hummingbirds we see here at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. My
Peterson book on Birds of Mexico does not even mention this bird. It is obviously not from Mexico.
This thing with birds, about where they live, has been under my skin for a long time. I want Mr. Peterson to consider publishing some books called
"Birds Sometimes Seen in Chicago But Which Live (for the other 364 days of the year) in Patagonia". Or how about, for the people in New Hampshire,
"THESE ARE NOT YOUR ROBINS -- THEY JUST CAME HERE THIS SPRING TO EAT YOUR BUGS -- WHEN IT GETS COLD THEY WILL GO HOME. THEY LIVE IN ECUADOR."
Since I can't find any of the hummingbirds (living off my charity and largess) in books of "BIRDS OF MEXICO", I guess these little beggars are just
passing through. They're bums. I've watched them - they do not take nectar from flowers. They prefer the free food -- let the bees, moths and
butterflies do all the work, pollinate the flowers. Little green pan-handlers. Our patios are tiny soup kitchens for these little con-birds. But we
feed them anyway, why not; they're so cute -- they'd better be cute, it's their con. Small, feisty, colorful comes to mind. Over the years I made
lots of jokes about them. Said I was putting Equal, Sugar-Twin in the feeders instead of sugar -- that they were dropping like flies, that I was
making earrings, jewelry from their feathers. When Lynda cleaned the sugar-covered feeders with hot water she would occasionally rinse them with
bleach to kill any germs. I quipped to my friends that she left just enough bleach in the feeder to insure that any tiny nests under our palapa would
produce less eggs per nest (maybe none).
These little jokes did get me thinking. Just for diversion I could put certain things in the feeders, added to the sugar-water to see how the birds
would be effected. The same birds seemed to be returning, day after day, it would give me a chance to see how they might tolerate subtle changes in
the daily fare at my soup kitchen. What would be the harm? They don't live here, they're just on their way someplace or maybe on their way home. If
they aren't adversely effected, they'll return to feed; if I've added things they can't tolerate, they will go to my neighbors, get a regular meal.
This is not some kind of obsession. I'm only going to use harmless things I already have, things in the medicine cabinet, under the sink in the
kitchen, the spice rack, the garage:
A quick check.
Aspirin (probably use the little Baby Aspirin)
Melox
Premarin (Lynda's menopause stuff)
Prozac (that should slow them down some)
Drano (way too strong)
Chili powder (well, they are passing through Mexico!)
Kahlua
Vodka
Paint thinner
Bleach
Soap
I'm not cruel. I don't want to kill the little things, just have some fun. No bleach. The stuff is way too strong, that was just joking. Kahlua.
It's already sweet, probably sweeter than sugar. I mixed three ounces of Kahlua into the sugar-water. This richer brew, darker than the usual mix, I
put in one feeder -- the other the regular stuff -- I can have my own "control group". The alcohol in the new potion amounts to less than 1% by
volume; probably not enough to get them drunk. I can always increase it as I go along. While I'm deciding what other chemical possibilities there
are in the house, I think I'll need some kind of identification device for this experiment.
In the bodega, next to the dreaded washing machine I can't seem to get working correctly, I found some Rit dye. Found three empty plastic Windex
bottles under the kitchen sink; mixed it up, set the spray nozzle just so for the desired distance, saturation and I was in business. The birds are
practically tame and in no time at all I had marked a dozen of the them with the harmless solution. I'm afraid I overdid one or two -- right in the
eye. They shook it off. The stuff works great; I could write testimonials for these Rit people -- the stuff is not even coming off in the fountain
when they bath. I am beginning to see some feathers in the water but that is probably just from normal molting.
Boy, if I thought they were colorful before! I did all red, all blue, all yellow, alternating side colors, head red, body yellow, like that. Now I
have to be more careful what I give them. Although I have not discussed this little pastime with my neighbors I'm sure they're going to be able to
read something in my look if they come over and say things like "do you know anything about the red and blue hummingbirds I found dead under my
feeders?"
While I'm being so scientific about things I might as well have some sort of journal. I think I'll make up some sheets on the computer. Maybe
something like: Bird One, Size and Color, Dyed (yes or no), feeder One, feeder Two. For now I'll just keep my observations irregular and informal;
just jot down what I'm observing that I think might be caused by the addition of the Kahlua.
Friday, February 12: The Kahlua feeder is definitely getting more action than the plain sugar one. One large yellow- dyed bird (with a spot of red
dye on his head) has taken over the darker feeder. He is very aggressive, insular. Seldom leaves the feeder unattended.
Sunday, February 14: Despite the actions of the combative yellow bird, the dark feeder had to be refilled while the other is still about half full.
None of the birds seem to be adversely effected by the Kahlua mixture -- they all seem to be thirsty for the dark stuff; enough that they seem to be
working in small teams -- two or three keep the big yellow bird busy while some of the others drink. An active team leader is a small one I tinted
all blue.
Friday, February 19: The big yellow bird is gone. There are some yellow feathers around. The blue one has taken over the Kahlua feeder. The feeder
is empty. He drinks at the other one but rushes back to protect his now empty feeder.
Monday, February 22: Increased the Kahlua mixture to 5 oz. in feeder one. Orioles came to the feeder twice today. The hummers were more aggressive
than I have ever seen them -- led by the small blue bird, they ran the Orioles off before they could drink. With the one that came right at dusk, I
think if I hadn't intervened they might have killed him.
(I'll have to change the experiment for the time being -- I drank the last of the Kahlua myself -- will get more next month in San Jose Del Cabo).
Wednesday, February 24: Both feeders now have only the regular sugar water. (Can't go to San Jose for Kahlua until my S.S. check comes in on the
7th). Very strange things happening. I left the empty Kahlua bottle on the table on the patio. The blue bird (and another unmarked bird) are
protecting the bottle as though it were a feeder. I swear to God. One or the other keeps guard over the thing from dawn to dusk.
Friday, March 4: Out of sugar. One feeder has been empty for two days; the other is almost empty. No more vodka till I get to town. Taking the
Prozac twice a day. The small wars continue. The fights over the bottle were fun to watch for awhile (from the bedroom, through the window -- they
won't let me near it). If they don't get some sugar-water tomorrow I'm afraid they will start killing each other. Let em. What do I care? Little
Ecuadoran drunks, bums.... Let em. I don't think I have to wait til dinner time for the other Prozac, I'll take it right after lunch.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8088
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Knorr's hummingbird boullion? Can't wait to try it.
Don't remember where we packed those really small cups, though.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Robins are real good, taste just like doves.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Sauced or just a squeeze of lime?
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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I put one of my parrots on a Kahluadiet as an experiment. The results were gratifying:
 
Bob Durrell
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
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Mood: mellow
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Sauced or just a squeeze of lime? |
Definitely need to be sauced.
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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I hate it when their little toe nails get caught in my teeth.
Iflyfish
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
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Mood: mellow
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
Dennis, the K is spoken but not the first R.
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I am european and we know stuff like this. It's the second "R" that's silent, although in Switzerland they often pronounce it Knorerer. They are very
precise people.
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