Holly berries and nutrients

[Cheryl Hogue]

The holly tree in my back yard was full of berries this morning. The birds have ignored it.

But this afternoon, a flock of about a dozen robins stripped the tree in less than 2 hours. A flock of at least 50 starlings (it was more like 200 at one point) foraged in the grass. A couple of starlings joined the robins in chomping down holly berries.

It's been a cool phenomenon to observe while I'm working. I'm glad there's some home-grown food in my yard for the birds.

Does anyone know what the nutrient ratio is in holly berries? Carbs, fat, and protein?

Cheers,

Cheryl Hogue

Silver Spring, MD

[ljeanne...@aol.com]

 

Yes, They love Holly berries.. just waiting for them to ripen! 

 

  Also you may want to look up Beauty Berry bush.  The Cardinals line up to clear them off the bush.  Also first sign of the Mockingbird is on top of bush daring any other bird to come close.  He usually gets out numbered.    I trim mine back to about three feet, late fall and next year it repeats with many berries for the birds.   

 

My daughter leaves in Berkeley Spgs. W Va. and she had 21 Blue Birds swaying on the soft branches of the Beauty Berry at one time.  

 

Jeanne Bowman  BBC 

Freeland, Md 

 

--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
Unfamiliar with a hotspot mentioned on this list? Quickly locate it here - http://www.mdbirding.com/hotspot.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maryland & DC Birding" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mdbirding+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/a8e61313-0f28-4d61-a057-47582b30ab64o%40googlegroups.com.

[Clayton Koonce]

I am lucky to have a big Nellie Stevens holly growing close to the same window where I watch my feeders. Right now, the robins and bluebirds have been coming for the berries for days (the bluebirds also like the sunflower chips in nearby feeders). Cedar waxwings and the occasional sapsucker and hermit thrush are among the other birds that I've seen feeding on the berries. A smaller pruned holly on our condo grounds was stripped of berries in a couple of days by robins and waxwings, with the hermit thrush among them.

Clayton Koonce

Columbia, Maryland

[Ben Sumners]

Our backyard giant American Holly was stripped pretty clean early in the winter but a few weeks ago I caught a flock of bluebirds and waxwings feasting on a holly tree at Eastern Neck and got this great photo.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1194853791.368077.1611953893171%40mail.yahoo.com.