next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
> a Mockingbird laid claim to a Barberry (Berberis) hedge by our garden for several consecutive recent winters, hanging out there more or less all day every day, apparently eating all-but-nothing else. Dean Kendall Leesport PA (~50mi NW of Philadelphia) -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of John and Nhung Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2015 5:53 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: RE: Barberry (was [NatureNS] Bayberry) A pair of ruffed grouse are currently doing a serious job on the barberries near the house on Wyman Road. Must have something to do with the snow cover... -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca Sent: February 1, 2015 4:39 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: Barberry (was [NatureNS] Bayberry) I appreciated Anne's description of Barberry - we also have one growing in with a fine row of blackberries along my parents' driveway, and it's a menace. I have never observed a bird eat the fruit of barberry - does anyone know if any bird or other creature does? Patricia L. Chalmers Halifax ---- Anne Woolaver <awoolave@hotmail.com> wrote: > Hi all, > > This shrub has the most horrific thorns - so fine and innocent-looking, but feel just like needles going in! In my prime blackberry-picking territory, a barberry has come up right in the middle of one of the most prolific patches. Each year, the barberry branches seem to extend further outward, and the blackberries are forced to reach higher and higher to come out the top and into the sun. All I can do is look longingly at loaded canes that only a knight in full armour could get to! Makes great bird habitat though - one fall after the leaves were down I found what must have been a perfectly protected nest right below the top of the bush. > > > > A. Woolaver > > > > > From: dwebster@glinx.com > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Flicker of hope .... > Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:02:54 -0400 > > > Dear All, > I planted a Bayberry in our yard about 1967, by good fortune a female, and it cropped just about every year from about 1972 until it became weak about 2000 (Died about 2005; shade/roots of Crack Willow and Black Cherry I suspect). It became huge BTY, about 7' tall and 1" at the ground. > The berries have a thick coat of wax beads so 'lipid' rich. The bush was readily seen from one Kitchen window and one Dining Room window. Crows fed on the berries every year, usually in late winter, often hanging upside down while they fed. But we never saw a Flicker feeding on them. > > I recommend it as a yard plant if you have open space especially now that it has a probable Flicker connection; no care needed. > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Ken McKenna > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 9:52 PM > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Flicker of hope .... > > > Hi all > I hope I am not passing on mis-information. For some reason thought that this is why flickers in winter are often found where there is bayberry but I am now not 100% sure of this. Certainly other birds such as late yellow-rumped (myrtle) warblers and I think tree swallows can be found in these area > > > Well I just did a Google and indeed both red-bellied woodpeckers and flickers like bayberry. Apparently they have a very high fat content. > > > Cheers l > Ken > > Ken McKenna > Box 218 > Stellarton > NS B0K 1S0 > > > > On Jan 29, 2015, at 9:29 PM, katefsteele@gmail.com wrote: > > > > > That also explains the flicker or two that were seen several times at Grand Desert Beach last winter where there is hardly a tree. I hadn't put much thought into why they were at that location! > > > Kate > > > > > > Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Bell network. > > > > > > From: Keith Lowe > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 9:15 PM > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Reply To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: RE: [NatureNS] A Flicker of hope .... > > > > > > > Liking bayberry would explain their presence at Rainbow Haven then. There are at least 4 - 6 of them wintering there this year. > > > > From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Ken McKenna > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 8:37 PM > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Flicker of hope .... > > > Hi all > > In Pictou co. Most overwintering flickers are near sources of bayberry and here that is often near the shore like caribou I , Melmerby pp and big I. > > This year on Pictou hbr Cbc the Vines had 6-7 flickers nicely decorating one tree near the entrance of Pictou hbr and in the middle a red-bellied woodpecker. The odd one shows up elsewhere like Pictou town which is coastal in a way. We rarely have missed getting a number of flickers on this count in the nearly 25 years of my doing this count. > > > > On the Springville count which runs an inland tangent from the Pictou hbr count we rarely get flickers- not a lot of inland bayberry. My thoughts anyway for what it is worth. > > > > Cheers > > Ken > > Ken McKenna > > Box 218 > > Stellarton > > NS B0K 1S0 > > > > > On Jan 29, 2015, at 8:16 PM, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > > > > Hi Keith, > > I have not seen one of these plots before; very impressive. What is the difference between a blue balloon and a red one ? Assuming the pointed end is the location marker, nearly all are near salt water or in the warmer end of the Annapolis Valley (when viewed at large scale); suggests aversion to cold. > > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Keith Lowe > > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 11:19 AM > > Subject: RE: [NatureNS] A Flicker of hope .... > > > Hi Ron, > > Welcome to the list. > > Northern Flickers are in range for overwintering in the western half of the Nova Scotia mainland. > > You'll have to zoom in but this map shows eBirded Northern Flickers in Jan/Feb for the last 10 years. Click on "Show Points Sooner" on the right side of the page. > > http://ebird.org/ebird/map/norfli?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env .maxY=&zh=false&gp=fal