My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

On 14/10/2020 11:33, Andy Burns wrote:
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

It seems to me that birds avoid many "hard" berries until other food is
in short supply. By hard berries I mean fruits from holly, hawthorn,
pyracantha, etc. I assume such berries are less palatable and/or less
nutritious than soft fruits.

--

Jeff

In message , Andy Burns
writes
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples, bright
orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can find.

--
Graeme

In message , Graeme
writes
In message , Andy Burns
writes
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples,
bright orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can
find.

My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size of
doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they were.]

Some resident wood pigeons will suddenly decide to raid my red-berried
pyracantha - but not the one with orange berries.

On the other hand, the red berries on the cotoneaster (which keeps
springing up like weeds all over the place) seem to be left alone, even
in the coldest winters). I guess the birds do eat it (and hence spread
it) - but I never see them doing so. They certainly leave fallen berries
alone.
--
Ian

In article , lid
says...

On 14/10/2020 11:33, Andy Burns wrote:
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

It seems to me that birds avoid many "hard" berries until other food is
in short supply. By hard berries I mean fruits from holly, hawthorn,
pyracantha, etc. I assume such berries are less palatable and/or less
nutritious than soft fruits.

My pyracantha never gets touched unless everything is frozen, which BTW
has not happened for a few years here on Tyneside.

--
Jim S

On 14/10/2020 14:00, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Graeme
writes
In message , Andy Burns
writes
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds
don't seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples,
bright orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can find.

My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size of
doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they were.]

I'd suspect redwing (Turdus iliacus), but they're thrush size, not dove
size.

Some resident wood pigeons will suddenly decide to raid my red-berried
pyracantha - but not the one with orange berries.

On the other hand, the red berries on the cotoneaster (which keeps
springing up like weeds all over the place) seem to be left alone, even
in the coldest winters). I guess the birds do eat it (and hence spread
it) - but I never see them doing so. They certainly leave fallen berries
alone.

--
SRH

On 14/10/2020 14:00, Ian Jackson wrote:


My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size of
doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they were.]

Redwings

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...d-a-z/redwing/


--
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on
its shoes.

On 14/10/2020 19:43, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
On 14/10/2020 14:00, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Graeme
writes
In message , Andy Burns
writes
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds
don't seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples,
bright orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can
find.

My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size
of doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they
were.]

I'd suspect redwing (Turdus iliacus), but they're thrush size, not dove
size.

they can be quite big. Normal migrants in E anglia are redwings and
fieldfares.



Some resident wood pigeons will suddenly decide to raid my red-berried
pyracantha - but not the one with orange berries.

On the other hand, the red berries on the cotoneaster (which keeps
springing up like weeds all over the place) seem to be left alone,
even in the coldest winters). I guess the birds do eat it (and hence
spread it) - but I never see them doing so. They certainly leave
fallen berries alone.



--
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on
its shoes.

On Wed, 14 Oct 2020 14:00:44 Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , Graeme
writes

In message , Andy Burns
writes

My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds
don't seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples,
bright orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can
find.

My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size
of doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they
were.]

Redwings, members of the thrush family. I get them every year and they
strip my viburnum in a couple of days. They haven't arrived here in
Reading yet this year but I've been looking out for them.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

In message , Jim S
writes

My pyracantha never gets touched unless everything is frozen, which BTW
has not happened for a few years here on Tyneside.

How strange. The blackbirds here (Aberdeenshire) have already stripped
at least half the orange berries from what is a fairly large pyracantha,
as they do every year. We have had a couple of mild frosts, but not for
more than a week. Everything outside is best described as soggy.
--
Graeme

On 14/10/2020 11:33, Andy Burns wrote:
My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds don't
seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

I have always how well birds can see at night
I often disturb day flying birds at night when they are roosting, they
fly off and I dowonde ow well they can see to find a new place to rost.

In message , David Rance
writes
On Wed, 14 Oct 2020 14:00:44 Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , Graeme
writes

In message , Andy Burns
writes

My holly bush is having a bumper year for berries, but the birds
don't seem to have noticed, have they all gone colour-blind?

Birds here are having a field day, attacking the windfall apples,
bright orange and red pyracantha berries and anything else they can


My large holly bush was once stripped bare of berries in a few minutes
when a flock of birds landed on it. [They were 'strangers' in these
parts, and I think they were just passing through. They were the size
of doves, but had red flashes on their wings. I'm not sure what they were.]

Redwings, members of the thrush family. I get them every year and they
strip my viburnum in a couple of days. They haven't arrived here in
Reading yet this year but I've been looking out for them.

David

Thanks for all the replies. One thing I didn't mention was that, this
year, neither of the two pyracanthas I have growing together (almost as
one - one red berried and one orange berried) have had no flowers*, so
there won't be any berries for the birds. Also, the holly bushes have
only had a few.
*Just as well - I dislike their sweet, sickly smell!
--
Ian

---
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Ian Jackson wrote:

neither of the two pyracanthas [...] have had no flowers

yes, we have no bananas ...

snip


Thanks for all the replies. One thing I didn't mention was that, this

year, neither of the two pyracanthas I have growing together (almost as

one - one red berried and one orange berried) have had no flowers*, so

there won't be any berries for the birds. Also, the holly bushes have

only had a few.

*Just as well - I dislike their sweet, sickly smell!




I have an old orange pyracantha, which I have limited to 3 feet high and
assumed that is why it has had very few berries over the years.
Last spring, before my first 'trim' it was covered in flowers and the
leaves were pale green (on the South side) Since then I have avoided
trimming the berries, but kept them visible by trimming the new (very
vigorous green sheets).
Now the South side of the shrub has a mass of ripening orange berries
with pale leaves and the North side almost no berries and dark leaves
Whether this has anything to do with putting plants under stress to
force them to flower, I am not sure

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gfdpea5vuj...x&view=cm&tf=1

I think that should be a photo
--

Jim S


--

On 19/10/2020 10:33, Ian Jackson wrote:


Thanks for all the replies. One thing I didn't mention was that, this
year, neither of the two pyracanthas I have growing together (almost as
one - one red berried and one orange berried) have had no flowers*, so
there won't be any berries for the birds. Also, the holly bushes have
only had a few.
*Just as well - I dislike their sweet, sickly smell!

No berries on your Pyracantha? You don't know how lucky you are! I had
our tree cut to about half its height by our tree surgeons as couple of
years ago (they said that trimming Pyracanthas was of the jobs they hate
the most as it is so well armed). It's now back to about 3/4 its
original size and is fruiting like mad:
https://ibb.co/PN3zXxt

One tree which is much better behaved and is one of our favourites in
autumn is Cotoneaster 'Hybridus Pendulus'. The one we have is about 3 x
3 metres and was already probably 30 years old when we moved in 8 years
ago. Unfortunately a sickly cypress had been leaning on it for years,
and a large chunk was missing from one side. The tree surgeons removed
the cypress, but the cotoneaster still hasn't regained its shape.Maybe
in another 8 years or so it will:
https://ibb.co/crVSczF

--

Jeff