When we had our conservatory installed, we did contemplate having the rowan tree removed. It is quite close and we were concerned that the berries might stain the roof. We retained the tree with a little judicious pruning.
Besides the usual crowds of Starlings and Blackbirds, today saw a visit from a Song Thrush. But what did rather surprise me was to see the local cock Chaffinch also partaking of the fruit of the tree. It was clearly stripping the flesh from the stone and devoured several berries whilst I watched. Normally it would be feeding on the seeds spread from the feeders onto the ground, usually a consequence of the picky House Sparrows, clearly it felt the need for a change of diet.
It is not that unusual to discover finches feeding on fruit. Even more astonishing was the instance I saw a number of years ago when a small flock of Goldfinches descended on the neighbourhood's ornamental cherry trees. I was intrigued to discover that they were indeed eating the berries. Even with their specialist beaks designed for extracting seeds from thistles, teazles and the like, they were able to manipulate these fruits to enable them to consume the flesh.
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