Weed Dangerous To Hummingbirds
By Marilyn Pokorney, Fri Dec 9th
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If you love hummingbirds, keep your garden, yard, and propertyclear of weeds. Especially burdock. The prickly seedheads ofcommon burdock can trap and kill hummingbirds.
During September, 1998, three hummingbirds were caught and diedin Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. A fourth hummingbird wasrescued by bird watchers.
According to National Park Service biologists, the burrs actlike Velcro. The barbed points on the burrs cling steadfastly tofur, clothing, skin, feathers--almost anything that comes near.
As the tiny birds thrash around trying to free themselves theybecome even more entrapped.
While not much has been written about the subject, a consultingornithologist in Burnaby British Columbia reports that the weeddoes occasionally claim the lives of small birds and even brownbats.
Burdock, also known as Cockle Burr, is
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