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Hi there
While on our way to Tescos today we noticed that Rowans Trees has come into bloom with lot of berries.
Has anyone else noticed that Rowans are becoming full of berries
Lots of berries are starting to appear in clusters at the end of a branch - the ones we saw looked orange coloured
While living in Scotland I was familar with the Red berried Rowan. Since we moved to Bedford it appears there are a few species of Rowans whether they are wild or cultivated
What birds would eat them at this time of the year of birds are in moult status at the moment, and are less likely to be seen feeding now. The production of berries, and the lack of birds do not go together.
Do any insects rely on Rowan's.
Love to know more about the cycle of life here?
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hiya,
That sounds very strange - it's not time for berries yet! I wonder if this is a result of the unusual weather we've been having? Or if it's a cultivated rowan, maybe it's been bred to produce early berries?
No answers, just further questions...
LB
Hi LB
I was thinking that it was too early in the year because the Thrushes thrive on Rowan berries when the colder months start.
Maybe it is the type of tree that has been planted. I have noticed a snattering of Orange Berried Rowan's doing the same thing all over Bedford
It might be the species and the weather has caused them to grow berries...as they have.
As you say it questions on top of questions...
Hi Blackbird
Rowan Whitebeam etc are all important aspects of our street flora - someones breakfast in other words !! and greatly underestimated interms of the big chain of things . Know your tree , know your insects and you can get a great handle on what and where and how birds feed. These bombastic Waxwings are known to check in at supermarket car parks and strip the trees for a free lunch
http://www.ycy63.dial.pipex.com/birds/waxwing.html
These particualr trees are of the family Rosacaea (Hawthorn Pear etc ) and like manyothers the berries can persist well into winter providing an important wionter food source for some birds . Shieldbugs feed on the soft succulent fruits
Small mammals also will take fruits suchs as Haws Rosehip and Rowan us too in the form of Rowan Jelly
See if you can spot the Hawthorn shieldbug Nymph on this picture
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_duke/4552273443/sizes/o/in/set-72157623807293401/
In unusually hot arid or dry summers many will notice fruits drop early - the little apple tree next to me is loosing quite a few young fruits and Beech nut often dont fruit weel in awkward season
Its a great time now to gee up on Tree ID with the Leaves Fruit and Berry aroun
http://www.judywoods.dial.pipex.com/Trees.html
Best wishes
Colin D
Visit http://www.ukwildlife.dial.pipex.com for Natural History Species and accounts
Hi Colin
Thank you for your very informative post and irnjoyed reading up about the Rowan species a lot
As you say Rowans are a tree that is relied upon bu many bird, beasties and bugs especially in winter time
Sadly I have never seen a Waxwing (love the picture) yet, and hope to one day if I am lucky enough
They are stunning birds
Reviving the topic of rowan trees in the light of recent waxwing excitement...
We had a red berried rowan in our front garden for about 25 years. The birds loved it and much to my mother's annoyance stripped it of berries very speedily every winter - mostly blackbirds. However, it got so big that it was undermining the foundations so my parent removed it and replaced it with a small yellow berried rowan because the nursery told my mum that the birds wouldn't eat the yellow berries. I'm not sure there's much truth in this & would like to know what other people think. The new tree neverseems to have many berries and the birds are far more interested in eating the crab apples, holly berries, cotoneaster & baby dates from the palm tree. However, we've never managed to attract a waxwing & I have ambitions on that front. I noticed that in one of the waxwing pictures the bird was eating what looked like white/pink rowan berries. I wonder what sort of rowan that is & where you can get hold of one ? Never seen one in our local garden centre. I now have a substantial gap in the back garden, due to shrub death after last winter. I am determined to put something bird friendly in there.
I shall be moving house, - and area-, shortly, and am interested in making sure my new garden will be attractive to birds and other wildlife. Planting a rowan tree and other berry-bearing shrubs/trees will be on my to-do list as soon as I can. I should be interested in knowing the name/variety of that particular rowan with whitish berries. The callicarpa shrub I remember from photos on here before Christmas, I am determined to get one of those!
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Well I did a bit of research of my own this afternoon & found these :
I always thought that rowan & mountain ash are one & the same. The latter is actually recommended for attracting birds. Found this info on http://www.crocus.co.uk where they also have wildlife items in their January sale and a red berried rowan at half price...better go and post that on the budget birding thread.
Oh well done , Bella! Thanks for that, I'll bookmark it so I can find it easily when I need to.
Hi Rach
I've read that the red berries are more popular with the birds - certainly our pink berries do seem to last a bit longer than our neighbour's red ones, but they do get eaten eventually - photo of a waxwing on it in December to prove it! Our pink one is certainly a nice neat size and fairly slow growing - some of the red ones get really large. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was called.
see my photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggyn/
Hi Maggy, thanks for that information. A while ago there was a very good photo on here, which you may have seen, of waxwings feeding on the white berries of a rowan/mountain ash; this gave me the idea of having one of these trees. I shall have another think when I have actually moved, - got to sell this house first! Certainly the full grown size of the tree will be a factor in my deciding which one to have.