Laura Erickson’s For the Birds

One of the things I discovered when I was researching my book, 101 Ways to Help Birds, is that a dangerous fungus, Aspergillus flavus, attacks peanuts and corn. This mold produces aflatoxins, which are extremely dangerous for humans and other animals. Aflatoxins are in the news right now, as I learned when I was doing my obligatory reading this morning, which always includes Walt Hickey’s Numlock News. Today, Hickey wrote:

(quote) The peanut is a very important agricultural product of Senegal, grown on 40 percent of the country’s farmland and a staple ingredient of nearly every dish in the national cuisine. The crop is beset by a devastating fungus, however, that has had disastrous health impacts: The fungus produces aflatoxin, which is a carcinogen that causes liver cancer, and is responsible for 4,000 cases of liver cancer annually, according to the African Union. There’s a possible solution, though; closely related fungi in the same family have been discovered to outcompete the poison-producing fungus, and this year, the government will test the product —Aflasafe — on 50,000 acres of the two million acres of peanut farms. (end quote)

Senegal is facing a human health crisis right now that may justify limited testing, but as we’ve learned in so many cases, introducing a plant or animal (or maybe a fungus) to solve one problem almost always causes entirely new problems, so it’ll be some time before we learn whether Aflasafe lives up to its name.

Here in the United States, domestic and imported peanuts and corn are often contaminated with aflatoxins, so products containing either are regulated and must pass inspections to be sold for consumption by humans, livestock, and pets. But there are no regulations prohibiting contaminated peanuts or corn to be sold for wildlife feeding, so I never buy either from wildlife feeding stores unless there is some way of making certain they were inspected and safe for pets and livestock.

To keep my backyard crows and Blue Jays birds safe, I always buy peanuts only from the grocery store. Unless your birds go through peanuts very quickly, small feeders that are freshened frequently are better than large ones, and bring peanuts in during rainy spells. Use caution when offering bird-feeding mixtures that contain peanut hearts, and never allow peanuts to get damp.

Peanut butter is nutritious and has a high energy content, so it is often a component of bluebird food mixtures, and people often smear it into the crevices of tree bark or stuffed into the holes of hanging log feeders for birds to take as it is. Hanging old pinecones stuffed with peanut butter on tree branches is a delightful project for small children, and chickadees usually discover the tasty treat quickly. Boreal Chickadees are especially fond of peanut butter.

Peanut butter is virtually always sold for human consumption, so is safe from aflatoxins. But peanut butter sweetened with Xylitol is extremely dangerous for dogs. It should be clearly labeled with a strong warning about how dangerous it is for dogs, because a great many dog owners offer peanut butter as a special treat, often smeared in Kong toys. But in this anti-regulation oligarchy we find ourselves in, I’m not holding my breath. To my knowledge, Xylitol has never been tested on birds, so to be on the safe side, we never buy brands that use it.

I also never offer birds “natural” peanut butter because the oils separate, easily gunking up bird feathers. Many people worry that, because of its sticky texture, any kind of peanut butter could gum up bird mouths. I’ve never seen that, but mixing peanut butter with a generous amount of cornmeal makes it grittier. In summer, peanut butter may get too goopy to use even with cornmeal, but during northern Minnesota winters, I offer unadulterated peanut butter—when frozen, birds have no problem whatsoever with it. Birds don’t seem to have a preference between chunky and creamy.

I hardly ever offer cracked corn in my yard, but when I do, I purchase it at a local specialty store, Dan’s Feed Bin, which provides food for poultry and livestock, so it must pass inspection. Never buy corn sold in non-breathable plastic bags, because condensation fosters fungal growth. And never EVER offer corn that is coated with a red dye, which means that it has been treated with fungicides and is intended for planting and is highly toxic to humans, other mammals and all birds.

Sandhill Cranes have become backyard birds in Florida, where many people set out buckets of corn for them. Heat, humidity, and frequent rains in Florida can make this practice very dangerous if that corn gets the least bit moldy. Many of the birds who like cracked corn are ground feeders, but spreading corn on the ground may increase the likelihood of contamination with fungus. Spread only a small amount at a time and be very conscientious about keeping the feeding area raked. My in-laws in Port Wing, Wisconsin, used to spread cracked corn to attract Ruffed Grouse and deer, but decided to stop it because it also attracted so many squirrels and jays. (My father-in-law was President of the Port Wing Blue Jay Haters. That is not a true fact, but he delighted in my saying it on the radio.).

There are some exceptions, but overall, feeding birds doesn’t provide nearly as many benefits for birds as it does for us people who enjoy them. But no matter how fun and rewarding feeding birds can be, it’s wrong to feed them anything that could harm them. If we do offer peanuts and corn, the least we can do is fully understand the potential for danger and make absolutely certain that what we set out is safe.