11 minute read
Birds & berries – The
&BIRDS berries
As the chill of winter sets in, bare bushes bursting with berries are a tempting treat for flocks of thrushes. Tom Hibbert of The Wildlife Trusts takes a look at the berries you might spot and the birds who love to snack on them.
Winter can be a tough time for wildlife. It gets really cold, especially at night. To survive, birds need to make sure they eat plenty of food to build up their reserves of body fat. They ‘burn’ this body fat overnight to create energy that keeps them warm while they roost.
But the problem is, in winter, food can be hard to find. Lots of birds like to feed on insects, which become much less common when the weather turns cold. So, some birds adapt and change their diet. They seek out the buffet of berries growing on our trees and bushes. Berries are packed with vitamins and calories, so are perfect for putting on a little extra winter weight.
Some berries make tasty treats for people too, though others are poisonous – so never pick a berry you aren’t completely sure is safe. As hedgerows have been cut down, we’ve lost lots of berry-bearing bushes that our birds depend on. Wherever you find berries, it’s important to leave plenty for the birds, who often need the energy far more than we do.
Let’s take a look at some of the berries you might spot…
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is found in lots of hedges and along the edges of woodland. This prickly tree produces bright red berries known as haws. They look a bit like tiny apples. Haws appear in September and can last well into winter – if they aren’t all gobbled up fast. They’re packed with antioxidants and are very popular with wildlife. Thrushes are particularly keen on them. They pluck them from the stems and swallow them whole.
Holly © Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION
Hawthorn © Philip Precey
Ivy © Chris Lawrence
Dog rose
This is another thorny plant that grows in hedgerows, on scrubland and along the edges of woodlands. You might have seen its large, pastel-pink flowers earlier in the year. In autumn and winter, the flowers are replaced by big, orange-red oval-shaped berries called hips. They’re popular with thrushes and waxwings. Amazingly, some birds manage to swallow these big berries whole, too.
Dog rose hip © Philip Precey
Holly
You’ve probably seen holly around Christmas time – its spiky leaves and jolly red berries are often used on cards and decorations. Holly trees grow in lots of places, including parks and woodland, especially if there are oak trees around. The round red berries appear in clusters from November and can be found all winter. They’re poisonous to people, but birds love them – especially the mistle thrush. Other animals will hunt for holly berries too, including wood mice.
Ivy
Ivy is a lovely, glossy evergreen shrub that grows across the floor or clings to trees and other upright structures. You can often find it in gardens, parks and woodlands. Ivy is really important for insects because the flowers don’t appear until autumn, offering nectar and pollen at a time of year when most plants have stopped flowering.
The berries are great for wildlife, too. They’re bruise-black and grow in little round clusters. They don’t ripen until winter, when most other berries are long gone. This makes them a vital source of energy for birds – and ivy berries pack a lot of calories into such a tiny package. Look out for woodpigeons crashing about in ivy bushes, gulping down berries.
Elder
Elder trees grow all over the UK, from wastelands to woodlands. In late summer, they start to produce clusters of little purple-black berries. These are very popular with Elder berries migrant birds, who fuel up on © Alan Price/Gatehouse Studio elderberries to give them enough energy to leave the UK and fly south for the winter. They’re a favourite of blackcaps – a grey-brown warbler with a sooty black cap on males and a red cap on females.
Cotoneaster
As well as all the wonderful native berry bushes we’ve described above, you might come across species that have been brought to the UK by people. These are often planted in urban areas, like supermarket car parks. They can become a problem as they spread out into the countryside and replace the trees that naturally grow here. One of the non-native shrubs you might spot is the cotoneaster (pronounced ‘kuh-tow-neeaster’). It has waxy leaves and bright red berries. Even though it doesn’t naturally grow here, the berries can still be popular with birds, including the waxwings that sometimes visit the UK from Scandinavia.
Cotoneaster with visiting waxwings © Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Mistle thrush © Donald Sutherland Redwing eating hawthorn © Chris Gomersall/2020VISION
Did you know?
up worms. You can often find them along hedgerows and they also visit parks and gardens. Listen out for their sharp ‘tsee’ calls – you can sometimes hear them at night as migrating flocks move overhead.
Fieldfare © Richard Steel/2020VISION
Now let’s meet some of the birds that like to feast on all these berries…
Mistle thrush
These big, boisterous birds are huge fans of berries. In fact, they love scoffing them so much that they refuse to share. When a mistle thrush finds a tree bursting with berries, it claims the whole thing for itself. It will sit on a high branch, shouting at other birds with its loud, rattling call. Any intruders that get too close will be chased away. Mistle thrushes will choose lots of different berry-bearing trees to defend, but holly is one of their favourites.
Redwing
Redwings are thrushes, like the mistle thrush and the familiar blackbirds you’ll often see in parks and gardens. They’re slightly smaller than blackbirds, with rusty red patches under their brown wings. They also have a pale line over their eye, like a long cream eyebrow. Redwings travel to the UK each year from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland. They move around in flocks, searching for berries to feast on or muddy fields where they can pull
Fieldfare
Fieldfares are also thrushes, though they’re slightly larger than a blackbird. They have a brown back with a frosty blue head and rump, and a yellowish breast with lots of dense spots. Like redwings, they come from Scandinavia and Russia for the winter, in search of food. They like to feed on worms and other soil-dwelling creatures, but when the ground is too hard they seek out berries and fallen apples. They’re found in countryside fields on the edges of woodland or hedgerows, but will visit gardens if it gets really cold and food becomes harder to find. They also like to hang out in groups and sometimes join flocks of redwings.
Waxwing
Waxwings are the celebrities of the bird world. When they turn up, it’s the talk of the town. Everyone wants to see them and it’s easy to see why. They’re beautiful birds! Their peachy pastel plumage is paired with a well-styled crest and a liberal splash of black eyeliner. Sadly, they aren’t common. In some years hundreds or even thousands can appear, but in other years there are hardly any. It all depends on how much food they’re finding in Scandinavia. If supplies over there run low, then large flocks of waxwings cross the North Sea in search of juicy berries. They often turn up in urban areas, feeding on ornamental berry bushes
Woodpigeon
You’ve probably seen plenty of woodpigeons. They’re one of our most common birds, found in towns and cities, as well as the countryside. They often visit gardens, especially where people put out bird food – woodpigeons will hang out under the feeders, hoovering up any spilt seed. But they’re also big fans of berries. They’re a delight to watch as they crash about in the bushes, stretching their neck to tug berries from the branches. Blackcap
The blackcaps that nest in the UK are summer visitors, who fly to southern Europe and Africa for the winter. Before they fly south, they spend the autumn fattening up on berries to provide lots of energy for their long journey. They particularly love blackberries and elderberries – they eat so many it turns their poo purple! However, in recent decades some blackcaps from central Europe have started flying north each autumn, to spend the winter in the UK. These winter visitors will seek out any berries left on the bushes, as well as visiting garden bird feeders.
Grow your own!
Choose species like hawthorn, blackthorn and holly to give lots of shelter to wildlife, as well as providing tasty berries. If space is really tight, you could grow ivy on a trellis. Providing natural food sources is one of the best ways you can help wildlife in your garden. For tips and advice on planting a berry bush, visit: wildlifetrusts.
org/help-hedge
For more information about The Wildlife Trusts, visit: wildlifetrusts.org
Growing some berry-bearing bushes is a great way to attract wildlife to your garden. You can sit by the window with a warm drink, watching for wild winter visitors. You might even be able to tempt redwings to pop in for a snack. By choosing native berry bushes, you can also bring benefits to a wide range of species that feed on the flowers or live within the wood.
If you’ve got space for a small hedge (or a big one), winter is a great time to plant it.
Woodpigeon © Jon Hawkins/Surrey Hills Photography
Waxwing © Jon Hawkins/Surrey Hills Photography
Blackcap © Vaughn Matthews
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