Fortunately our black currants are still not ripe. The white currants and the gooseberries are almost ripe. However, ready or not, a few of them will have to wait as some birds, some kind of native sparrow, have decided to build their nest right in the middle of the berry patch. They are not interested in the berries, just in the extra protection afforded by a thorny gooseberry bush in the middle of an enclosed garden.
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| 'Pink Champagne' white currants |
Taking pictures was rather difficult. I had problem focusing on the nest, deep in the bush, rather than the surrounding foliage. The chicks are not particularly pretty at this stage. They are still too young. One was born yesterday and the other two today. In late afternoon, one egg has not yet hatched.
The nest is only about a foot from the ground, woven deep in the middle of an 'Invicta' gooseberry bush. I was sure the parents would abandon it when we had a open garden day recently, and every single visitor had at least one peek at the eggs. When someone gets too close, instead of flying off the mother jumps off to the ground and hides in the foliage under the nest. Both parents seem to walk to the nest from under the bushes. This is why so far I have not been able to identify them - before you get close enough to indentify them, they jump off under the foliage, and you never see them going in or leaving the nest.
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| 'Invicta' gooseberries |
As far as we are aware, it is the second nest built in the garden this year. I think there is a third one, a humming bird nest because one couple of humming birds is always around. But no nest has been found. The first nest was by the Chipping sparrows that had built one in a New Dawn rose last year.
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| Chipping Sparrow in New Dawn rose last year |
They were back this year but decided to change rosebush and built in 'Dortmund' rather than in 'New Dawn'. They have already left, all that remains is their empty nest.
Last year, the nest was about 3 feet from the ground. This year it was rather high. I had to climb on a stool to take the picture. It is in the clump of roses, on the left toward the top of the arch.
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| 'Dortmund' climbing rose |
The black currants still have a way to go. Hopefully, the nest will be empty by the time they are ripe.
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| Black currants |
Do you have an opinion on the flavors of the currant varieties you grow? I'm thinking about planting a currant but I have no expertise on the flavor and there seem to be so many conflicting descriptions in the sales materials...
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
DeleteThe black currants are very different from all the others. They are my favorite and represent 80% of what I grow. Red and white currants are the same thing - just different varieties (I like Pink Champagne).
Gooseberries are similar to red currants but often are bigger and have thicker skin. Invicta is much better than other gooseberry varieties I have or have tried. Gooseberry bushes are prickly, currants are not.
You might find some currants or gooseberries (the fruit) for sale at a farmer's market. That would give you an idea of what they taste like. They are easier to grow than strawberries or raspberries.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! Trying fruit from the grocery is a great idea.
DeleteCameras sometime have a mind of their own. Young birds are all mouth aren't they?
ReplyDeleteThese large yellow mouths must be hypnotic on the parents.
DeleteJ'adore lire les nouvelles de Roche Fleurie.
ReplyDeleteI felt we had more nests about the yard this year and I wondered if it might be because I left one feeder all summer. I was especially pleased to notice a cardinal nest, and they are especially fond of the safflower seeds.
ReplyDeleteWe used to have cardinals in our old garden. I don't know if yours are the same but their nest was always very badly made. Eggs would sometimes fall out! Yet they must succeed in raising broods as there are lots of them (south of here though - here we saw our first one this summer).
DeleteIt's so exciting when you see a nest in your garden, they have chosen your space to raise their families, we feel honoured and are glad to share the garden with them. Usually we only find the nests when we are pruning shrubs back, long after the chicks have flown.
ReplyDeleteI would not be able to express it better Pauline.
DeleteI do hope someday to find a humming bird nest in the garden. I saw one only once. It was not much bigger than a thimble.
That's exciting even if you don't get your berries :)
ReplyDeleteWe had two nests of blackbirds in our raspberry bush three years ago. That time I learnt that the bush has no need to be big but has to be dense and protective.
A bientôt
After having faced a full day of people looking into their nest when the garden was open, I think they will put up with us picking the berries that are not too close to the nest. As you must have experienced with your blackbirds, once they start feeding, it goes very fast and first thing you know they are all gone.
DeleteYou must have a very welcoming garden! Hard to believe that in 2 weeks those baby birds will be flying.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful. I really enjoyed the pictures of both the birds and the roses. The only nest we had that I discovered in our garden was a cardinal nest but I'm afraid the eggs were stolen because we never saw the babies.
ReplyDeleteThere are many predators around, the worst offenders here being crows, blue jays, chipmunks and squirrels.
DeleteCiao Alain, ero sicuro di essermi già messo come follower nel tuo blog invece no! Ma da oggi ti seguirò con molto piacere! Mi piace davvero moltissimo quel pezzo piatto di giardino roccioso! Complimenti!
ReplyDeleteGrazie per la tua visita. Il tuo blog sembra molto istruttivo e interessante. Le immagini sono particolarmente belle. Ciao.
DeleteI always take it as a compliment when birds build nests in my yard. Although I did have to chase away a mourning dove who wanted to build a nest in a hanging basket on my front porch. That seemed a little much, somehow. On another note, I do love gooseberry jam. You can't grow gooseberries down here, unfortunately. Way too hot.
ReplyDeleteI also like gooseberry jam (I make it with fruit not quite ripe, which makes it a little bit more tart). However, my favorite is black currants - fresh, in jam and especially in a liqueur.
DeleteHi Alain, those little birdie chicks are so cute and so ugly at the same time it's adorable. It must really feel encouraging to know that these birds consider the garden environment you've created as a perfect place to make their home in.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is all enclosed. Perhaps they feel more secure in it.
DeleteBirds often pick odd places for nests! If the parents can hop into the nest from the ground surely some predator might do the same thorns and all. Hopefully not though! I always love having nests in the garden and knowing there are baby birds growing up in my garden. Right now we have a baby bunny in the garden. You will think me crazy, but I don't mind giving up a few violets just for the chance of seeing the little bunny each evening.
ReplyDeleteI can understand a baby bunny. They are so cute. In a former garden we had a resident bunny. His favorite food was clover in the lawn so he or she was not a problem.
ReplyDeleteGreat that the sparrows feel safe in your backyard! We get lots of traffic at the feeders, but the birds all know about our cat and won't bring up their children on this side of the fence.
ReplyDelete