When do your berries go?

Fire

I inherited a male holly hedge which has no berries, which seems a bit of a daft thing to plant in a small garden. I like the flowers, though.

Liriodendron

I believe rose hips don't get eaten until they've been softened by frost.  There was a blackbird attacking them in the hedge this afternoon - not sure what it was doing with the itchy hairs...

Buttercupdays

My Rosa canina was covered with hips last year and they were all eaten later in the winter.  There are more this year, untouched so far, but if everything got eaten straightaway the birds would be in for some hard times, just when winter is at its worst.

Fire

Yes, I take the approach that my berries don't generally get hoovered up, but it's good to know they are there if the birds need them.

muckyhandsmike

At my old house we always had loads of berried holly at Christmas despite having lots of pigeons and blackbirds. At the new place we have a holly tree that was covered in berries a few weeks back but it’s already bare now so none for us this Christmas !

Fairygirl

We don't get too much eaten until the natural supplies outwith the garden are largely finished. There's miles of hawthorn hedging round here, so the blackbirds and thrushes focus on that, and the rowans, first, before they come back into the garden and tackle the cotoneasters, while the woodies mainly eat the pyracantha and some cotoneaster.  

bcpathome

My cotoneaster was covered with blackbirds this morning all gobbling and squabbling over the berries , it’s a huge plant ……covers all one side of the garage…….but it’s almost bare of berries now 

bertrand-mabel

Well the birds take the cherries whilst they are still green!

Our cotoneasters are now devoid of berries.

Culprits....blackbirds which many have come from mainland Europe.

Holly...all berries went months ago.

Rose hips as others have said still mostly there but some taken.

Pigeons on the ivy berries..have you ever smelt the fragrance of the ivy flowers? Lovely.

Astraeus

Interestingly, the blackbirds discovered our orange pyracantha yesterday.  We had a conveyor belt of the same six or so walking along the wall beneath it, popping up, having a nibble and going to the back of the queue.  Still some left, surprisingly!