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Backyard serviceberry |
"This was when Bradford's had a bad reputation only for weak limbs but were known to be sterile and only stayed in places they were planted. I replaced it with a serviceberry because it was small, wouldn't grow into the power lines, and I enjoyed seeing their blossoms in wooded areas each spring before the dogwoods flowered. The nursery discouraged me by saying it would never survive outside of a forest setting, but by then I really had bonded with the idea."
It has beautiful small white blossoms in the spring, much more refined than the gaudy Bradford/Callery blossoms that are taking over our countryside and even growing out of a neighbor's cedar tree!! It is also a convenient landing spot for the mockingbirds and other species.
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This time of year is when it really earns its keep. We have flocks of cedar waxwings descending on it, thirty at a time. The branches will flutter like a big wind storm and the birds gorge on the ripening berries. Occasionally they will go out on a limb and hang upside down while picking the red ripe juicy fruit.
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It is hard to photograph the ripe berry, technically a "pome" but way to technical for me. By the time the sun is on the tree, so are the waxwings. They will feast for a while, then suddenly all take off and fly to the very top of a neighboring oak, a spectacular mass exodus. Now it is safe for the robins and mockingbirds to come back.
"Cedar waxwings like to feast in groups, and they are not alone in loving serviceberries – at least 35 species of birds eat the fruit, including: mockingbirds, robins, catbirds, Baltimore orioles, grosbeaks, thrushes and others." Ecobeneficial.com
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Unripe berries |
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Did someone say desert? |
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Here is much more detailed information on the downy serviceberry
(Amelanchier arborea) and cedar waxwings.