What birds eat Hawthorn/Blackthorn

[willowa]

I am going to plant either Hawthorn or Blackthorn (sloe). Both attract insects and are good for wildlife. What birds eat the haws or sloes.
I only have room for one. Has anyone got any of these plants and what birds do you get on them. :stuck:

[Dizzy]

Hi Willowa,
Well I got, among others, a couple blackthorns from Buckingham Nurseries (thanks for the tip by the way..they give a first class service). I read up a bit before deciding what ones to get and the info I got was that Blackbirds and Thrushes will go for the berries of both, and also that finches like the hawthorn too. There may very well be others..only the one book actually mentioned which birds liked which, the rest ran along the lines of "plant hawthorn/blackthorn/guelder rose etc etc as birds like the berries!!"

Not much but hope it helps.
I wonder how long mine will take to grow to a decent size??..lol...so impatient!

[Cathy H]

Hi Dizzy,

We planted a native hedge 2-3 years ago which included hawthorn but we've not got around to planting any blackthorn yet although it's on our list. Sadly none of them are big enough yet to produce any berries so we'll have to wait and see.

Cheers, :t: :t:

[Dizzy]

Hi Dizzy,

We planted a native hedge 2-3 years ago which included hawthorn but we've not got around to planting any blackthorn yet although it's on our list. Sadly none of them are big enough yet to produce any berries so we'll have to wait and see.

Cheers, :t: :t:

Hi Cathy,
Thanks for the info..I know I'll probably have to wait a good few years for results...I want everything yesterday...lol..soooooo impatient!

Best Wishes

[willowa]

I also found some space and planted four Hawthorn and two Blackthorn also from Buckingham. We live close so I go there alot. I will have to wait a while for them to grow as we have been advised to cut them by half for two seasons...

[Ruby]

Hi,

In addition to the normal suspects, I have watched Hawfinch eating the dessicated remains of sloes quite recently - so you never know!!


Ruby

[Cathy H]

Hi again Dizzy (I've just 'spoken' to you on another message)

I know just what you mean about being impatient. I've been wondering what was wrong with my pyracantha cos it's not had any berries but it's only cos it's a young plant! Still, at least we had mature hazel trees in the garden when we moved in, so that's something. BTW if you're ever up around Cardross/ Helensburgh way there's a working farm/plant nursery called Ardardan which sells native hedging as well as loads of other stuff. At the moment they have their first Highland Cattle calves in a field nearby, and lambing is going on all over the place. They are soooo cute. Last year we saw a pair of twin lambs when they were only about 30mins old. Gorgeous!

Cheers, :hi:

[willowa]

Or doe's anyone know how to make sloe gin. Do you just collect a few sloes and put them into gin for a few months. :stuck:

[Dizzy]

Hullo there Cathy,
I know. wouldnt it be good if you could buy them fully grown and just plant them straight in and ready to go..lol. Im glad you kept your hazel trees..when we moved here the council had chopped the Elders right down to nothing...its taken them 10 years to get back to what they probably were..and theres an idiot up the top of our road whos just chopped down a beautiful mature Hazel...I could have cried! I've shallow planted two baby ones out back near the house..I'll move them once the fence is up as Id like to dig out a nice big border in front of it to get more plants in. My children despair of me...lol..and I havent even started on the front yet ;) I'll check and see if Ardarden has a web site...sounds good..and spring lambs..just gorgeous arent they..I love anything babylike..lol

Willowa,
Heres a recipe for you.
300g sloes
150g sugar
500ml gin

Wash and dry the sloes. Use something sharp to ***** the skins. Put sloes into a large glass bottle or jar. Add the sugar. Add the gin. Seal the container. Leave for about 2months. Shake every 2 or 3days at first then every week
Strain liquid into smaller bottles. The longer you wait before doing this the better it'll taste!

[willowa]

Hi Dizzy

Thanks for the recipe will give it a go. :clap:
I also heard that waxwing like Hawthorn. Don't know if you get them where you are, they are rear here in Northants.

I check the twigs every few days there is growth staring on them, this rain has helped them along.

[AC/DC]

i recomend the rspb birdfeeder garden book as it has a list of wildlife friendly plants an what birds benefit from them, as well as info on building feeders and nestboxes, plus how to make your garedn wildlife friendly