Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 21:43:45 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: rob gibbs Subject: Re: birds and deadly-nightshade berries MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I agree with earlier responses to your inquiry about the value of nightsh= ade to local birds. I would add that at this time of year berries are in sho= rt supply and we can still get significant cold spells. These last lingerin= g berries, even if they are not preferred foods, can make the difference between making it through a cold night or not, especially for a migrant species. Paula's point about exotic invasives cannot be over emphisized. This species is an exotic but is not too terribly invasive so I'd leave i= t till the cold weather is gone for good. You may want to dig it out after= the weather warms and replace it with a native berry producer. You asked about a source of info on bird foods. There is a great referen= ce on this subject that I'm sure is available at the library, it is called "American Wildlife & Plants - A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits". The firs= t half of the book is organized by species of wildlife (nearly all N.A. spe= cies of bird are covered) and lists for each the percentages of different food= s in their diets by season and specific plants that make up significant parts = of their diet. The second half of the book is organized by species of plant= s and lists for each the species of wildlife that utilize that plant for a significant portion of their diet. Plants are given a numeric code to reflect their overall importance as a wildlife food source. It is an absolutely fascinating book to leaf through. It's published by Dover Pres= s and is dirt cheap if you can find it for sale. According to this source nightshades (two common species in the NE) are u= sed sparingly by Cardinals, Catbirds, Swamp sparrows and gray-cheeked thrushe= s. -- Rob Gibbs, Wildlife Ecologist Montgomery County Parks ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================