The mistletoe in our old apple tree is now abundantly festooned with pearly white berries, some branches destined for sale at our Christmas Café this Sunday and the rest left for the birds. I haven’t yet seen a mistle thrush foraging in it, unlike this newspaper columnist:
“For more than a quarter of a century, there has been a thrush visiting this exact spot, always appearing shortly before Christmas, always gone by the beginning of February. Through a dozen thrush generations the place has become a bigger attraction, a longer draw, each bird benefiting its successors. A dozen clumps of mistletoe two decades ago have become more than 70 today, spread through nine trees. The thrushes have acted as gardeners, either wiping seeds off on a twig, having gorged on the flesh, or depositing them in compost-packed poo. The scientific name Turdus viscivorus, meaning mistletoe-eating thrush, hints strongly at the bird’s all-consuming appetite for those berries.
It wants them all, guarding its winter bounty against all comers, though not always successfully. A woodpigeon, a bird never averse to picking unripe fruit, flumps down into the lime, cocks its neck and begins to pluck berries from over its shoulder. The thrush, a few rungs higher, has no time now for honeyed prose. It fires off a long, ugly, and insistent rattling call, a “get off of my crop” warning if ever there was one. The perching pigeon, three or four times its weight, is unmoved. It just keeps eating.” (Derek Nieman Country Diary The Guardian 10 Jan 24)
The ivy covering our old shed at home is now visited by large, ungainly wood pigeons attempting to balance with flapping and ungainly manoeuvres to get the ripe berries. Often maligned, ivy has an essential place in biodiversity: _“Ivies have enormous value to wildlife, providing all-important year-round shelter for huge numbers of creatures including birds, small mammals and invertebrates. If allowed to reach their adult phase and flower, they provide an invaluable late source of nectar and pollen for bees, hoverflies and many other insect pollinators. Ivy berries are much appreciated by birds in midwinter when other food sources are scarce. More than 140 species of insect and 17 species of bird feed on ivy in Britain, and countless others appreciate its evergreen shelter.
People can benefit from ivies too: their ‘ecosystem services’ are becoming increasingly recognised. When grown on walls, recent research has demonstrated that ivy helps keep buildings cooler in summer and less damp in winter. Growing ivies around our homes also improves air quality by trapping particulates.”_ And the third of the Christmas trio, holly has been cut, along with conifer and bay branches to decorate the house for the festive season:
‘The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.’

Signing off now for a festive break and hopefully sightings of red cardinals and other Ohio birds when we head off to Columbus for a family visit. Hope you all have a relaxing and healthy holiday break. Here’s to a Peaceful, Fruitful and Green 2025!

Jenny Bourne 12.12.24