What is it about Birch?

[nightshade]

Over the last few weeks there has been a pair of Magpies giving me
great amusement as they pull twigs off my Weeping Birch,losing their
tempers as their selected twig lodges sideways in the other branches
or simply refusing to come loose under their assault.
I located their domed nest and looking at it discreetly with binos.
it seems to be almost entirely constructed from Birch twigs!
The Jackdaws have moved in to their hole in the nextdoor neighbours
eaves and are currently tearing branches and plant-stems from my
garden to construct a nest.
The Birch is showing that first green haze of emerging buds and though
I have looked carefully I cannot see what it is that the Goldfinches and
Tits (Blue and Great)are hanging on the branch tips for(they seem to enjoy
the bounce and swing anyway and get quite vocal)unless it is dew-drops
Popular tree this year though

[Kymba]

The birch tree is one of the most popular for attracting a variety of birds, and many birds use the shed bark of the birch tree as nesting material.
The spring foliage attracts aphids, food for tits and warblers. The autumn seeds are sought by seed eating birds such as redpolls, goldfinches and twites. Decaying branches provide nesting places for woodpeckers Bigger birds such as Woodpigeon and Sparrowhawk also utilise birch for nesting purposes, sometimes rather close together.

[aeshna5]

Birches are an excellent tree for wildlife + so suitable for small gardens. Agree with most of what Kymba says aprt from the fact that Twite don't feed in trees- in winter they feed on saltmarsh plants + on breeding grounds tend to feed on seeds of low growing plants such as crucifers, composites, etc.

[Walwyn]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Birches are an excellent tree for wildlife + so suitable for small gardens.

Hush now someone might hear you. Birch tends to be rather thirsty and can take a lot of moisure out of the soil. Could be a problem on clay soils near houses as it tends to dry out the clay which causes cracking in brickwork and paving.

[Paul mabbott]

You don't see the aphids and other insects because they've been eaten by the birds!
Pollen is also eaten, I'm told, by (e.g.) long-tailed tits.

Originally Posted by nightshade

Over the last few weeks there has been a pair of Magpies giving me
great amusement as they pull twigs off my Weeping Birch,losing their
tempers as their selected twig lodges sideways in the other branches
or simply refusing to come loose under their assault.
I located their domed nest and looking at it discreetly with binos.
it seems to be almost entirely constructed from Birch twigs!
The Jackdaws have moved in to their hole in the nextdoor neighbours
eaves and are currently tearing branches and plant-stems from my
garden to construct a nest.
The Birch is showing that first green haze of emerging buds and though
I have looked carefully I cannot see what it is that the Goldfinches and
Tits (Blue and Great)are hanging on the branch tips for(they seem to enjoy
the bounce and swing anyway and get quite vocal)unless it is dew-drops
Popular tree this year though

[brainfarmer]

i wish my local council would plant a few birch and get rid of the ever increasing numbers of sycamore that are taking over ever inch of open ground.

[almostnormal]

Originally Posted by brainfarmer

i wish my local council would plant a few birch and get rid of the ever increasing numbers of sycamore that are taking over ever inch of open ground.

I know the feeling...all the new trees going in seem to be sycamore and it would be nice to see some native varieties going in as well. However, sycamore does support a wide range of bugs and birds, despite popular disparagement, and a few shouldn't be too problematic in the towns!

[Paul mabbott]

There are views that sycamore is native - see other threads, I'm not going to start that one again! I'm surprised, though, that sycamore is being planted, other Acer yes but usually sycamore is the first one for the chop.
My pet peeve is plane - hardly ever see an insect on it and even its seeds aren't eaten ...

Originally Posted by almostnormal

I know the feeling...all the new trees going in seem to be sycamore and it would be nice to see some native varieties going in as well. However, sycamore does support a wide range of bugs and birds, despite popular disparagement, and a few shouldn't be too problematic in the towns!

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

There are views that sycamore is native - see other threads, I'm not going to start that one again! I'm surprised, though, that sycamore is being planted, other Acer yes but usually sycamore is the first one for the chop.
My pet peeve is plane - hardly ever see an insect on it and even its seeds aren't eaten ...

I always used to say nothing ate plane seeds- though I'd seen 2 other exotics feeding on them occasionally- Grey Squirrel + Ring-necked Parakeet; but this year it seems as though Goldfinches have discovered them. In several totally different parts of London- such as Barnes, Greenford, Barking + Notting Hill Gate I've come across flocks of Goldfinches eagerly extracting these seeds- something I hadn't observed before this year. I also saw a Greenfinch feeding on them too.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised as Goldfinches widely feed on other tree seeds, especially on Birch, Alder + Larch, but amazed how the behaviour seems common this year. Perhaps it's a bit like the Blue Tits rapidly learning about milk tops when deliveries were common or birds such as Siskins which rapidly learnt about red mesh peanut feeders.

[Paul mabbott]

Anything that feeds squirrels should be exterminated!
I should say that I like some of the great, old street planes but do feel there's no value in planting thousands more.
Interesting observations - perhaps it's a last resort seed source or the goldfinches have learned th etechnique of getting into the seeds?

Originally Posted by aeshna5

I always used to say nothing ate plane seeds- though I'd seen 2 other exotics feeding on them occasionally- Grey Squirrel + Ring-necked Parakeet; but this year it seems as though Goldfinches have discovered them. In several totally different parts of London- such as Barnes, Greenford, Barking + Notting Hill Gate I've come across flocks of Goldfinches eagerly extracting these seeds- something I hadn't observed before this year. I also saw a Greenfinch feeding on them too.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised as Goldfinches widely feed on other tree seeds, especially on Birch, Alder + Larch, but amazed how the behaviour seems common this year. Perhaps it's a bit like the Blue Tits rapidly learning about milk tops when deliveries were common or birds such as Siskins which rapidly learnt about red mesh peanut feeders.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by brainfarmer

i wish my local council would plant a few birch and get rid of the ever increasing numbers of sycamore that are taking over ever inch of open ground.

I wrote a long letter to my Town council and requested it involve the County Council in changing the appearence of the approach to my town by planting trees
I thought what I wanted and even checked out possible funding
They read it, thought about it, and agreed to spend money(both councils)now it is a case of getting it done