Bumper year for berries

[RobinP]

Excellent year for blackberries, hawthorn, hazelnuts, rown berries etc, good news for dormice and all our winter bird visitors. Expect a major influx of Waxwings!



Discovery apples at their best now as well



Robin

[Stinky Bob]

Yes indeed, our elderberry is heaving with fruit and one apple tree we had to add more support as it was in danger of toppling over, bumper year for our raspberries and strawberries as well, in fact so many raspberries that I have been giving the smaller berries to the chickens . Also water lillies have gone mad, one plant had 13 buds/flowers on .

One downside is that the farmer has chopped miles and miles of hedgerow back at least a month early, cannot really blame him as the rain interupted his wheat harvest and he must have had workers idle - still bladdy annoying though.

[Littlesparrow]

Lovely big red rose hips in Cheshire, and a good crop of apples and pears.I haven't found a good blackberry patch yet, I think the rain might have ruined them.

[ellen h]

Blackberries aplenty here in Essex-also rose hips,hawthorn,rowan and elderberries........

[ChrisJB]

We have been in our house seven years and the apple crop on the tree this year is by far the best we've had. It's heaving with 'em.

Regards, Chris

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Expect a major influx of Waxwings!

Unfortunately it's fairly unrelated. It's a shortage of berries elsewhere that will prompt an irruption eg. Scandinavia, Eastern Europe etc Good for our winter thrushes though. Last year we had major and unprecedented movements of winter thrushes including several large movements during the second half of winter but this was due to harsh weather conditions. We also had a very good berry crop too but it was the weather conditions in continental Europe that prompted the influx of thrushes into the UK - a sort of reverse migration when they moved north again from Germany, France etc during the harsh weather. Waxwings largely stayed put in their normal winter range and there were good berry crops throughout 'Eastern Europe/Scandinavia.

(Following last winter's thrush disaster (thousands died searching for food in the later part of the year) I planted several new berry bushes which are now covered in berries!)

[Goldfynche]

I just can't understand some people. Several gardens in this area, have large pear trees. And I mean, tall towering ones, totally laden with fruit. But they appear to be totally ignored, and all the fruit just falls and goes to waste
There is even a council estate, not far from here, where a very healthy Hop 'bush' is growing alongside the entrance drive.

[artdemole]

The Elder at the moment is like one huge feeding station with all the birds using it instead of feeder in the garden.Picked blackberry's from favorite hedgerow two weeks ago.Others have been there but still had 2 big tubs filled .Now residing in freezer until required.

[Gatekeeper]

Some of the branches on our plum tree snapped with the weight of the plum crop. The pear tree wasn't very productive though.

[Gatekeeper]

Originally Posted by Picidae

Unfortunately it's fairly unrelated. It's a shortage of berries elsewhere that will prompt an irruption eg. Scandinavia, Eastern Europe etc Good for our winter thrushes though. Last year we had major and unprecedented movements of winter thrushes including several large movements during the second half of winter but this was due to harsh weather conditions. We also had a very good berry crop too but it was the weather conditions in continental Europe that prompted the influx of thrushes into the UK - a sort of reverse migration when they moved north again from Germany, France etc during the harsh weather. Waxwings largely stayed put in their normal winter range and there were good berry crops throughout 'Eastern Europe/Scandinavia.

(Following last winter's thrush disaster (thousands died searching for food in the later part of the year) I planted several new berry bushes which are now covered in berries!)

There were large numbers of redwings and fieldfares in my area of Cardiff during that harsh weather. Each day I would scatter a ground mix under the trees in the park behind my house; it certainly seemed to keep the finches and thrushes going. I also bought a large quantity of apples and stuck them on the branches of our by now fruitless trees. I've never had so many redwings an fieldfares in the garden, with one large fieldfare taking possession of an apple laden tree, and seeing off all comers. The only time I've had a meadow pipit in the garden was during that bad spell.