[Tweeters] Why don't we see birds on blackberries?

[Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters]

Hi Jim,

Over here on the north Olympic Peninsula, birds seem to use Himalayan blackberry patches quite a bit, particularly during winter.  Fox Sparrows especially hang out in blackberry patches, along with Golden-crowned, White-crowned, and Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, House Finches, and more.  We particularly see House and Purple Finches, along with towhees, eating the berries in late summer and early fall.    

A couple years ago, a “restoration project” removed several big clumps of blackberries along the Dungeness River, leading to a noticeable drop in winter sparrows in that area.

Bob Boekelheide
Dungeness



From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Tweeters] Why don't we see birds on blackberries?
Date: October 7, 2024 at 11:51:01 AM PDT
To: via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Reply-To: Jim Betz <jimbetz at jimbetz.com <mailto:jimbetz at jimbetz.com>>


Hi

  Now that the blackberry season is past - I was reflecting on the fact that, to the best of my

knowledge, I've never seen a bird eating blackberries.  I went to the web and looked it up

and, according to the web, birds do eat blackberries.  So why haven't I seen them doing this?

In fact - my observation is that birds seem to avoid blackberry stands (as in, if there are

other bushes nearby you are much more likely to see any birds there than in the blackberries).

  Are the blackberries on the East Coast different than here in the West?  I even found

pictures of birds "in the blackberries" (but did not see very many of them actually feeding

on the blackberries).

- Jim
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