Berries for the Birds

We have a Rowan tree outside our home that has been watched from flower to fruit this last year. the flower to fruit took 12 weeks and by August plump red berries had formed. The tree was visited by Chaffinches and the Tits but they found more interest in the invertabrates.

By late September the first wave of continental Blackbirds and Song Thrushes attacked the berries. The peak count was of c15 Blackbirds and three Song Thrushes but the Thrushes only arrived to feed one at a time the other two would wait in a nearby Willow until the present Incumbant came back fully fed.

I soon observed that once I had placed a net of peanuts in the branches a parade of Tits would visit on a daily basis. Now I have only ever witnessed this once and that was back in the winter of 1989. Each member of the Tit family was queuing up to feed on the bag.

Great Tits would begin followed by the Blue Tits. Occasionally, at least once or twice a day a roving mixed tit flock would arrive from the north east after flying the circuit of trees and shrubs of the large car park which housed the Rowan. The impetuous young of each species would attempt to gatecrash the larger vistor so a fight would ensue. The Great Tit being the larger of the species would take control and after a day or so even the new young birds knew the pecking order. Within this flock there would be 10 or so Long-tailed Tits and these would attend the nut bag last, of course being the smallest of the tits present.

At the time of writing the tree has been stripped of berries by the Thrushes and the Tits have moved to pastures new.

One is preparing for a hard winter and the nut bag has so far remained untouched. I will miss my daily observations at this Rowan but perhaps the forthcoming winter may attract the Tits back if nothing else.