Sage thrasher and Mahonia fruit, Larimer County
Pat Hayward
I am not a fan of Fremont mahonia (Mahonia fremontii - aka Berberis fremontii)- nasty, nasty holly-like leaves that fall and blow everywhere in the garden. But I will now begrudgingly give it credit for attracting not one but 5 sage thrashers to our yard. It is loaded with very ripe fruit and though we humans find little of value in them, the thrashers seem to think they’re worth fighting the prickly leaves for.
We also have M. haematocarpa growing in the same area, but the fruit is not quite ripe – wonder if they’ll go after those eventually?
Both are growing in a completely unwatered area (along with a host of other western and southwestern native woody plants), and absolutely thrived this year.
For nativity, see:
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MAFR3
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MAHA4
Pat Hayward
Masonville CO @ 5400'