Raiding the Brambles

    I was hiking around the marsh edge when I witnessed one of the sweetest things.  A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers was raiding the wild blackberry brambles.  They would swoop down and flutter for a moment before plucking a nice fat berry from the vines.  As soon as one of the birds would grasp a berry, it would fly up to the nearby oak limb. There a ruckus would commence as their offspring sat with its mouth agape.  "Feed me, feed me!" the baby bird would squeal. And feed it, they would.  Berry after berry was shoved down that hungry throat.

  The wild blackberry vines grow higher than my head.  Huge clumps of them dot the hillside ever since Hurricane Katrina.  I am assuming that bits of root stock were washed in with the storm surge and then established themselves.  I leave clumps about the hillside simply because so many critters feed upon them and, if the need ever arises, so can we.  The berries are slightly tarter than the cultivated Boysenberries that I grow on fence lines in the garden but are still tasty and would make great jams and jellies.  If I was not overloaded with fruit and berries that need picking and canning at the moment, I would surely give these a try!

  I watched for about twenty minutes while the parent birds fed their little one.  Then they abruptly flew towards the north and I continued my hike. When I finally made my way up from the creek and through the peach orchard, I heard a familiar noise.  That trio had come to raid my Boysenberries!  The same procedure was occurring. The parents were teaching their little tyke all the good places to dine!  Oh, well.  I really did not feel like picking berries this afternoon anyway.  Son and I did our share this morning when we picked 28 lbs of blueberries.  Whew!  I think I shall just watch the birds pick the other berries!