AT A GLANCE
Do birds eat the ivy berries?
The Ivy berries are very popular with birds. Since the fruits of the ivy ripen between January and March, they enrich the winter diet of the animals. Due to their high pulp content, they also provide a lot of energy.
Why do birds eat ivy berries?
The berries are very nutritious and have one for taking with the beak optimal size of less than a centimetre. The proportion of pulp in relation to the seed is quite high, so the birds do not have to search long to cover their energy needs.
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The berries of the ivy shine slightly and stand out strongly from the foliage due to their dark colour. This makes them easily visible to the animals looking for food.
What Birds Eat Ivy Berries?
The ivy berries are covered by a Variety of vegetarian birds eaten. These include:
- Blackbird,
- Star,
- Throttle,
- garden warbler,
- redstart,
- hawfinch,
- blackcap,
- Robin.
In addition, ivy is popular with birds because its dense foliage remains on the plant in winter and offers protection when eating.
Which ivy produces the berries so tasty for birds?
Only the age form of the ivy produces flowers from which the dark black berries popular with our feathered friends develop. You old ivy based on the following characteristics:
- Flowers from September.
- Stops climbing and becomes bushy.
- dark bark.
- Heart-shaped, unlobed leaves.
The non-climbing shrub ivy Hedera helix 'Arborescens', which grows in the form of a small shrub, also produces flowers and berries. Ivy creeping on the ground on the other hand, never blooms and does not adorn itself with fruit.
When do the ivy berries, which are healthy for birds, become ripe?
The berries of the ivy become between January and April ripe and therefore at a time when the birds cannot find much food. The fruits of the climbing plant are therefore a welcome addition to the winter menu.
Tip
The flowers of the ivy are also ecologically valuable
When the ivy puts on its rather inconspicuous umbelliferous flowers from September, it is surrounded almost continuously. In addition to honey bees, hoverflies, wasps, bumblebees and butterflies like the magnificent admiral the plant. Even crawling creatures like the cute ladybugs feast on the high-energy nectar and pollen in autumn due to a lack of dwindling food sources.
