31 Wednesday Jan 2024
It’s been a bit of struggle finding invertebrates this month – everything’s tucked away out of the cold and the rain – so I was very pleased to see this Red-legged shieldbug trying to hide in this little clump of Ivy berries. If it’s not careful a hungry bird will have a crunchy treat when it comes feeding on the berries.
04 Saturday Dec 2021
Posted in birds
≈ Comments Off on Birds and berries, 2
These are not recent photos but I love how acrobatic these Song thrushes are when reaching for their delicious berry treats.
02 Thursday Dec 2021
Posted in plants
≈ Comments Off on From flower to berry
From its nectar-and-pollen-providing flowers to its luscious juicy berries for birds, Ivy is a wonder plant, and I read somewhere recently that it also hosts over 100 species of insect larvae. Amazing!
10 Sunday Jan 2021
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I’m not sure I can subscribe to the ancient concept that wearing a wreath of ivy leaves around my head would stop me getting drunk but the leaves are certainly amazing and incredibly diverse in shape, form and colour. Juvenile leaves have between 3 and 5 lobes, while mature leaves have no lobes and can be shaped both like ovals and hearts.
And then there are the flowers, in bloom from September through to November and a source of food for more than 50 insect species, and the subsequent berries, ripe from November to January – or, until the berry-loving winter thrushes, finches, woodpigeons and other hungry birds gobble them all up. What an incredible plant ivy is!
