Subject: [Tweeters] follow-up on berry interesting
Date: Dec 4 20:25:54 2006
From: Carolyn Eagan - eaganc at seanet.com


I haven't seen anyone mention twin berry or native honeysuckle. We have several bushes in our yard and the birds, especially Cedar Waxwing really love those berries. We have many more species of native plants in our yard too. Northern Flickers seem to be attracted to the red osier dogwood berries.

Carolyn Eagan
----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis Paulson
To: Tweeters
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 6:41 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] follow-up on berry interesting


I think I wasn't clear enough in my message, as some people have responded by telling me which native plants are used by birds, something I knew. What I really wanted to know was how many yards have native plants that fruit-eating birds are visiting. Seems to me that the vast majority of plants that robins use right in the city are non-native, same true with waxwings in eastern Washington. I assume the native plants that have bird-dispersed fruits are presumably much used out in the country, but you sure don't see many of them in people's yards. The note from Ruth Sullivan confirmed this. She wrote about all the native plants she had planted, very commendable, then mentioned the robins feeding on her pyracantha and cotoneaster! Perhaps the non-natives, especially if they are cultivars that have been bred for it, produce more fruits than the natives, perhaps also later in winter, and are more important in supporting flocks of robins and other fruit-eaters here in winter in urban/suburban areas. It may be that the native shrubs and trees that grow scattered through the woods are important, but we just don't see concentrations of birds at them because the plants aren't that abundant.


Madrones are a good example of an important native species, and they grow in large enough stands that sometimes there are great numbers of frugivores in them, but they are local in distribution (and, I believe, declining in some areas), and those stands aren't usually in people's yards. Ed Swan's mention of 15-20 species in madrones boggles my mind a bit, though, and I wonder if you would provide a list, Ed. I've seen Steller's Jays, Band-tailed Pigeons, Cedar Waxwings, Varied Thrushes, and robins, and I'm curious about the species list beyond that.


I didn't mention hollies, which are probably as important as madrones in attracting huge flocks of robins. Hollies are planted in big stands in some areas, and I've seen hundreds and hundreds of robins in them, as well as other fruit-eating species. I've always thought that if you wanted to spend time looking for Dusky and Eyebrowed Thrushes and the like, you should hang out in holly groves. Probably madrone groves also.


Thanks, everyone, for all the great response!


Dennis

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net








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