This year the Madrone trees produced a bumper crop of berries. It varies on the years they produce berries and not all Madrones produce in the same year according to my observations, but this year they all seemed to produce. This could be a sign of stress related to drought, which is evident by the various fungal pathogens that have been slowly killing many of the Madrones.
In past years the American Robins always showed up to feasts on the berries. One year there were so many Robins all over the trees it sounded like a riot in the afternoons. At the end of the day many could not fly either from eating too many berries or intoxicated from the fermented pulp of the berries. We could see some staggering around on the ground as if they were drunk and unable to fly. There were Robins here in the spring of this year going after the worms, but no Robins this Fall going after the Madrone berries. Where are the Robins?
I sure miss the Robins, and the blackberries were certainly sad this year. What's happening in the oceans is even more telling. Is Mother Nature trying to warn us about something even more dire or disastrous in the future?
ReplyDeleteOur mom used to love watching the robins invade her madrones too. Maybe your robins are already down here in Southern Oregon. I've been watching up to 8 fly in/out from our madrones into our bird bath. We are also enjoying flickers, towhee, blue birds, and cedar waxwings, who are also migrating south.
ReplyDelete