Spot a winter tree covered in berries and my reaction used to be, 'Ooh, that looks good for birds'. But if you think about it, it can't actually be that good if the birds haven't eaten them yet. Uneaten berries must be the plate of plain digestives next to the almost-empty plate of choccie ones; they are the sprouts of the Christmas dinner vegetable selection.
And so last week I decided to go for a spot of berry watching/photographing to see what leftover berries were still on the trees
Now it is quite possible that some trees and shrubs were still berry-laden because of their location - nice berries in a dangerous place are going to be an uneaten as nasty berries in a safe place.
But nevertheless I saw enough berries in enough places to feel confident to give you my current top three in the 'probably look better than they taste' category.
At Number 3: Rose hips. These (left) are almost certainly the big 'tomatoes' of Rosa rugosa, the Japanese Rose. But small uneaten hips were plentiful too
At Number 2: Pyracanthas. Yes, where a bush was trained up a house wall next to a front door you can imagine that birds are wary of visiting. But look at this succulent collection (right) in an ideal position for a Blackbird or Song Thrush, but with no takers.
And at Number 1: Cotoneasters. Trees, shrubs, ground cover - wherever I found cotoneasters I found berries. And perhaps the most frequent and the most berried was Cotoneaster horizontalis (left), the one with the herringbone stems that can crawl up a north-facing fence or over a wall.
So it was interesting to find one Blackbird munching determinedly into the uneaten cascades of cotoneaster berries. It seems that, when times get tough, even the sprouts of the berry-world begin to seem attractive.
Cheeky blackbirds indeed! They sound like they're very happy. It's great to hear first-hand experience like these - they all add up into an important body of evidence
I have some cheeky blackbirds in my garden who regularly strip the little dark berries on my flowering currant bushes even though I top up my 3 birdtables three times a day!
Carol (Paignton, Devon)
You're right, Ellen - Mahonias aren't European. Mahonia aquifolium is sometimes called Oregon Grape, and there are other species from America/Mexico too, but there are also Japanese ones. And they are a good late autumn or winter nectar source too, so not a bad all-round bush to have, although - as you say - with a feel of 'amenity planting' about it!
I've found mahonia berries are loved by blackbirds in my garden. It was not my first choice of garden plant - more likely to be seen around parking lots! And not a UK plant either (I think). But then again - if the birds eat the berries, surely that is a good thing. But good old British ivy berries are also loved by wood pigeons, collard doves and blackbirds too - and they come out in the spring.
So, is there a top 3 of favourites then - shrubs/trees that have been stripped of their berries? Certainly the Rowan trees in the street where I live were stripped bare by blackbirds some weeks ago. Which trees or hedgerow plants would be the best to plant for birds?