A Fruitful Morning at North Park

Yesterday morning, I photographed on a tiny island in North Park. A red mulberry tree had fallen over and onto the water. Nonetheless, it had a bounty of ripe berries that the birds gobbled up. I spotted Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, Goldfinches, Grey Catbirds, a Grackle, and even a swallow while they were eating. Birds are very tame there and did not mind my presence at all. It was a photographer's dream. Feed them and they will come!

Success Story

When we planted a serviceberry in our backyard, we had two goals in mind: providing a natural food source for birds; and an additional object for me to photograph. We succeeded on both counts. They are, of course, related. The serviceberry has an incredibly large amount of red berries, which the birds devour. There is a bully among them, however. A robin loves them so much that he chases everyone away when he's eating them. The berries are irresistible to cedar waxwings, cardinals, and house finches. We tasted them and liked them too. Some people make marmalade out of them, but I think you need more than one shrub to have a decent yield. Of course, if we made marmalade I wouldn't have been able to take this photo. So for now, we are happy to provide food for wildlife.