A wide variety of shrubs and vines provide lots of nourishment for wintering birds. Over 100 species of birds love to chow down on the white berries of the red-osier dogwood, a shrub that looks wonderful against white snow banks of winter. They also savour the flavour of the blue- black berries of Virginia creeper which last well into the winter, as well as the red fruits of cotoneaster. The berries of high-bush cranberry, pyracantha, privet, serviceberry, viburnum, and bayberry also provide a feast for hungry birds. Now, there's no reason why birds shouldn't usher in the new Millennium just as we do, by imbibing some finely fermented fruit.
Apples are the fruit of choice for the discriminating bird.
Luckily, rotting apples are usually plentiful, and as the cold winter nights advance, the juices of frozen windfall apples reach alcoholic proportions. This New Year's Eve, if you hear a raucous chorus of tipsy tweets, you may have unwittingly provided a source of entertainment for the feathered friends in your garden. Used under License.