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Is Service berry native? On Sun, Jul 21, 2019, 10:32 AM Veer Frost < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Great post. My old place had a serviceberry also much desired by > wildlife but I followed a gardener's (not a birder's!) advice and put > in an Aronia here. I don't know why but in four years not a single > bird has taken an Aronia berry of which there are many! They do love > to bits the berries of the wild alternate leaved Dogwood I found with > seven leaves under the oil tank and is now a big tree, a cornucopia of > berries/drupes?... also, crabapples in winter...Veer Frost, Passumpsic > > On 7/21/2019 at 8:23 AM, "Walter Medwid" wrote:Sitting on my deck > this morning catching up on the news with coffee in > hand, binoculars at the ready and overlooking a 20 foot tall > serviceberry > shrub loaded with ripening berries, the traffic to the berries has > been > remarkable. Veeries, robins, catbirds, YB sapsuckers, and cedar > waxwings > seem to be managing well without the benefit of air traffic control. > Chipmunks and red squirrels are taking advantage of the bounty as > well. All > the traffic seems to attract other avian species which seem to be > investigating all the activity-chestnut sideds and redstarts in > particular. > This shrub typically produces well each year but this one seems just a > bit > more robust. > > I share all this just to encourage the planting of it in other yards > if you > are interested in helping wildlife. It seems daunting to figure out > how we > aid wildlife with all of the threats but planting serviceberries is > one; I > also have dramatically reduced the amount of lawn the former owners > maintained and letting trees return; encouraging milkweed and other > productive pollenating plants. >