Birds and Berries

Dustykitten

I've just noticed the holly tree sagging under the weight of 3 rather large wood pigeons. The tree which always bears fruit is being stripped already this year, as is the Cotoneaster in the back garden. These both usually hold their berries beyond Christmas (unless there is heavy snow).

Why are the birds eating so early this year? Are they ripe early or is there a lack of other food? What will they do later on in the winter? Usually a flock of redwings arrives in January and feasts away, it will be slim pickings this year.

What is your experience?

lostinrates

My experience is different, that we have always picked holly early and stored in in water in a cool dark outbuilding, because by December the berries have all been eaten otherwise.

I have some young hollies here, a couple of which are bearing fruit and birds have not yet found them. I cannot imagine it will be that long though.

Dustykitten

Do you pick it this early? I usually do the same but not until the start of December.

lostinrates

Dustykitten wrote: »

Do you pick it this early? I usually do the same but not until the start of December.

Yes. Or I would if I had some mature enough here for me to snip. . It lasts brilliantly in dark conditions in a bucket of water.

shegar

I bought a 6 foot hawthorn tree early this year, simply for the birds food for the winter, it blossomed and then the berries came.........

3 weeks ago I spotted a bird that we dont see very often about here, yes it was a song thrush, and he has been back every day several times a day and completely stripped it of berries......:D

Well it was bought for him and his friends, so lovely to see, hope to see again next year......................

azzabazza

Both my pyracantha were stripped bare by the blackbirds about 3 weeks ago. There have been huge flocks of waxwings being reported - they come here from Scandinavia once they have stripped the berries over there. Some say that the earlier the waxwings arrive here the more severe the winter!

fwor

Exactly the same here - for the last couple of weeks the wood pigeons have been deliberately crash-landing in the huge holly next door so that they can get to the very last of the berries.

They also fall asleep on my front lawn when the sun's out, having gorged themselves on cotoneaster berries.

Not sure why it's so early this year, but it's going to make life difficult for other birds later on if we get another hard winter.

davenport151

I was lucky enough to see Waxwings in 2010 in our immediate area. They come over here when the berries are all gone or there is too much competition from other Waxwings/other berry eating birds in Scandanavia. So I dont think this is any indication of how our winter will be.
Hopefully everyone will leave the berries for our visiting & resident birds and not feel the need to trim up the berry trees.

azzabazza

davenport151 wrote: »

I was lucky enough to see Waxwings in 2010 in our immediate area. They come over here when the berries are all gone or there is too much competition from other Waxwings/other berry eating birds in Scandanavia. So I dont think this is any indication of how our winter will be.
Hopefully everyone will leave the berries for our visiting & resident birds and not feel the need to trim up the berry trees.

It's one of those old wives tales I think regarding our winter. The waxwings usually leave Scandinavia because they have eaten all the berries there or if there has been a berry failure over there. We have had reports of quite large flocks locally. I love seeing the birds eating the berries - natural food!

iharding

Only the second winter in this house, but last year we had plenty of berries left on the big holly trees to decorate for Christmas. This year they've virtually all gone - saw 8 fat pigeons blundering about in the tree the other week!

We'll be planting a hedge of hawthorn, spindle, wayfaring tree, blackthorn, hazel and anything else my dad gets hold of this winter, but will be a few years before that's a good source of berries for the birds.

Ian

blossomhill_2

A survey by the British Trust for Ornithology asking gardeners to record what berries birds are eating continues until the end of March 2013. The survey is to establish berry availability, which birds are feeding on what berries, and how quickly berries are removed from plants. Visit [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]www.bto.org[/FONT] and search ‘Birds and garden berries study’.