These days I am painting hawks, Red tailed Hawks to be specific, and a particular individual named Pale Male to be even more specific. Whilst I paint away, a dove is in the room, convalescing from a run in with some glue that left him missing a tail and many feathers. A Mourning Dove to be specific, as pictured above: Zenaida macroura to give its Latin binomial.

It is good company. It bates when it sees me and seethes with rage at its dilemna, pining for the freedom I would be wrong to grant it at this stage. He knows not my reasons; I am in his mind only a warden, changing his food and water daily and cleaning his mess. His tail, after two weeks of this, has started to grow in well, but I see no sign yet of his breast feathers, and his primaries, which I had to clip on one wing, did not fall out hence they body does not know to renew them. He is no match for predators. Cats, or hawks, will find him a tasty morsel.

And I hope he finds my latest offering a tasty morsel as well: hemp. Hulled seeds which I got at Wholefoods here in Chelsea, and which I will share with friends and with birds on the Highline feeders. I am not yet sure if he is taking to the hemp, he goes for bread, which is cheap and abundant - but on which a dove cannot live alone.

Given his feather condition, I knew he needed some butter with it, at least this is an old falconer's tale - so he got that, along with powdered milk in his water. Not sure even if he drinks. He does not like to be watched. Our companionship is a solitary affair, limited to feeding and cleaning. He had bread, + millet, flax, sesame and bran in his bowl. Soon I will limit his rations to hemp so I can observe whether he takes to it or not. It has all the essential amino acids, so I know he will be getting the necessary nutrition at this time, and a high percentage of oil, 30%, which will give his feathers a shine.

When he has his plumage in good condition again I will release him to the Highline, which is near to where I found him, and where I spotted a juvenile Mourning Dove the other day. It is also not far from a spot in the city, the French Apartments, where these doves breed, so this makes sense. And just maybe, if feeling mischievous, I will add hemp to the 300 species of plants they have lavished on this structure so he will have a fresh supply.

HOT TUNA AND MERCURY

Hemp, which is high in Omega 3, along with Omega 6 and 9, is the best source on the planet for it. Since it is a plant, and all hemp sourced for food is currently GMO free, and most grown without pesticides, it is ideal. However, the fishing industry has millions of tons of livers it needs to get rid of, so it goes on campaigns and gets nasty journalists to push this stuff down our throats. In October last year, there were two articles in the paper about people trying to be healthy and getting hooked on fish. One was in the New York Post, 19 October 2010, about a businessman, Lee Porazzo of White Plains, who is suing Bumble Bee after eating their tuna every day, which he thought was the "cleanest source of protein." Wrong.

He might have read the story in El Especialito that week by Dr Hector Rodriguez, who notes the value of Omega 3 and then goes on to tell the reader that large companies have polluted our rivers and seas, so the great majority of fish are contaminated. The info sidebar at the end of the article does mention hemp, but does not go into detail.

Porazzo's blood test in 2008 revealed a "dangerously high" level of mercury - 23 gm/lt in his blood. He got a call from the Health Department, which told him they normally do not contact him, but his level was so high they were making an exception. They told him to stop eating tuna. He did, and is now in court with Bumble Bee and Stop & Shop, the latter being the market that sold him his source of mercury.

After laying off the fish, he said his mercury level went back to normal.

He also stopped working out and lost weight.

My advice is get on the hemp, which has all the essential amino acids, actually it has ALL the amino acids, and get back in the gym.

ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT
HEMP PROTEIN

One of my readers, Jilly Cholmondeley, sent in some information about hemp protein, which I digested for a week or so and decided to post. First of all, some definition: proteins are polymers made up of amino acids. Now, some history. The hemp protein edestin, which is for some odd reason illegal in Norway, was known as early as 1881. The protein protease was discovered in 1904, and further developments include the 1932 patenting of a gluing process that utilised a hemp protein and the 1937 patenting of a process to make spun filaments, films, and threads out of a hemp protein. These resembled wool and silk. Coincidentally, that was the same year that the US passed a tax act which effectively wiped out the hemp industry in the US, so that left such fibres undeveloped while plastics such as nylon were mass produced.
Edestin is 65% of the protein in hemp, with albumin being the second most common protein. Now for some more science: proteins are either structural or globlular. The former go to make up tissues, such as hair and skin, and the latter function as, or as parts of, hemoglobin, hormones, enzymes and antibodies. There are 21 known amino acids, and hemp proteins include all of them, thus hemp contains the 8 essential amino acids: arginine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalnine, threonine, tryptophan and valine; it also includes taurine and histiodine, which are essential for premature babies and children, respectively.

Where can we get hemp?
Here are some URLs, and readers, feel free to add any to the
comments spot so we can expand this list:

Nutiva www.nutiva.com
The Hemp Shop www.thehempshop.co.uk
Rocky Mountain Grain www.rockymountaingrainproducts.com

HEMP IS A FAVOURITE FOOD FOR BIRDS

As hemp contains essential amino acids, tocotrienols, linoleic acid, alpha and gamma linoleic acids, palmitic acid and staeridonic acid, it is not surprising that birds love this food. The Linnet is even named after it in Latin: Carduelis cannabina. Its name in many Germanic languages actually expresses its affinity to hemp, such as the German Hamfling and the Swedish Hampling.

Ornithologists for centuries have noted the value of this seed, giving it not only to the obviously graminivorous birds but using it as part of raptor medicine as well.

Below is a list of select quotes from them:

Hemp is a favorite(birdseed) because of its nourishing oily content. - Margaret McKinnney, 1939

The seed, of high value, provides sowing material and is the favoured meal of the titmouse, because when it eats hemp seed, its song is loud and full of love. - Die Lustige Hanffibel, 1943

Any ornithologist worth his or her wieght in binoculars knows birds devour hemp seed. - John M. McPartland, 2000

Hemp seeds thrown on to the water help to attract a flock of Mallards. - S.M. Osman, work in publication