Hi Jeff (and Tweeters),

I was happy to read your assessment of
serviceberry as a good tree for wildlife. I did
an on-line search and found this:

"Most Amelanchier species have showy but
short-lived flowers. The flowers only last for
about a week, or less if it is warm or windy. The
flowers are followed by ? to ?-inch purple fruits
with a waxy bloom that taste somewhat like
blueberries when ripe. The fruits are ready for
harvest 2 to 3 months after bloom. The tiny
edible fruit are popular with birds, including
American goldfinch, tufted titmice, brown
thrashers, blue jays, Carolina chickadees,
northern cardinals and American robins."

I am going to plant several this spring. I was
really impressed by the list of birds they will
attract to my yard. At least three of them have never been seen in Washington!

Denny Granstrand
Yakima


At 05:09 PM 3/2/2009, you wrote:
>I think no matter what fruit bearing tree you
>plant, it has the potential to attract
>starlings, especially in
>fall/winter/spring. However, the benefits of
>serviceberry as a great native wildlife tree
>should outweigh the concerns of it attracting
>starlings. Many native birds are attracted to
>serviceberry fruit. I have two in my yard and
>the berries don't hang long enough to really
>attract starlings because the robins get them
>all first. Also, because serviceberry fruits
>ripen in June and July, they should be less
>attractive to starlings since they are primarily
>feeding on insects at that time.
>
>Jeff Kozma
>
>Yakima
>

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* dgranstrand at charter.net *
* Denny's bird photos can be seen online at: *
http://granstrand.net/gallery/