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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.
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.
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? |
Here is much more detailed information on the downy serviceberry
(Amelanchier arborea) and cedar waxwings.