Save Some for the Late Guests

As I've birded various areas over the last few weeks I've noticed that most of the fruit on the Hercules Club is gone. So it was interesting to come across this plant/plants today along the Manayunk Canal in Philadelphia.

There is one brown and dead section in the  lower middle. To the right are more or less empty branches with all the fruit gone. And there at upper left are some that are just developing. I guess they will help to feed the migrants who didn't get here in time.

Along with my desire to see exactly what feeds on this plant I've also realized that  it makes  sense to notice when it blooms. This year in particular I've been surprised at how early it blooms - August if I remember correctly. That leaves little fruit for the October migrants. So far the main feeders I've seen have been American Robins and Black-throated Blue Warblers. But other thrushes also feed in it as well as woodpeckers, warblers and vireos. It will be interesting to see if there is anything left for the later migrants as they come along.

Veeries and Others

No time for sketches or photos today but  I did want to update this blog with some new visitors to Devil's Walkingstick. Yesterday at the Wissahickon in Philadelphia I saw two Veeries  eating the fruit of the bush. Nearby a Black-and-white Warbler was traversing its trunk looking for food. I shouldn't really count this since it is birds that eat its fruit that I'm trying to document. Still it is interesting that the warbler chose it.

And not surprisingly American Robins were constantly landing in it, bouncing around as though on a trampoline. It really  is an interesting sight to see how heavily they  land among the berries.

Still Watching

I realized it had been quite awhile since I'd done anything with this blog when I saw our local Hercules' Club starting to flower almost a month ago. I was shocked at the early date. But then I got busy and didn't have time to write anything  about it

Today at Carpenter's Woods though quite a few plants had fruit on them and one of them was covered in American Robins, Gray Catbirds and this one young Wood Thrush. Since I had my camera with me I decided to take a few photos and hope that at least one would be good enough to  use here.

So the feeding year for Hercules Clubs has started. Who knows how many birds will be found using it as a food source this year? I hope I'll be able to keep this blog more updated this year than I did last year.