The Mullberry Tree

Earlier this Summer I was walking one of my favorite green spaces around the corner from the house when I spotted a bird bud of mine sitting in the grass, leaned up against a tree. Initially all I could see was his head and I did not recognize him. Then he waved to me. I was still unsure who it was. Then he called out and I finally figured out it was him. Living in a big city like Toronto, you just never know who may be in a park, why they are there, and why they may be waving at you. I’ve got a handful of peculiar tales from my outings that range from laughable head shakers to some that probably aren’t suitable for this blog; but let’s leave them to your imagination. Back to this story…

I approach my friend and ask him why he is hiding out in the grass. He pointed to a fairly large tree about 25 ft away that was full of birds, of various species. They were all feasting on the berries. He said he had seen more birds just sitting here, watching this tree, than his 45 minutes of walking elsewhere prior. While we aren’t tree experts, we believe this is a species of mullberry. I’ve since been told it’s a non-native species of tree, but hey, if it’s feeding our local birds and some wildlife, so be it.

It astounded me the variety of birds we saw that morning and they are all not much more than a good throw of a stone distance away from our home. I remember years ago, the house next door had mullberry trees. We weren’t into birds yet but I can recall a certain time in the Summer when they were full of birds too. Unfortunately the people did not like the mess that came with these trees and cut them all down (they had 3).

I returned to this tree a few more times over the next couple weeks, sometimes to photograph, sometimes just to watch. It was great! Here is some of what I saw…

Northern Cardinal

Gray Catbird

American Robin

Baltimore Oriole

Eastern Kingbird

Hairy Woodpecker

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

Yellow-billed Cuckoo who sat on the wires over the tree but I couldn’t “catch” him in the tree. A nice surprise to see such a skulky bird!

Other birds seen but not photographed included Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, European Starling, Black-capped Chickadee and Eastern Wood-pewee who was using a branch as a perch spot to fly out from to catch insects. Mammals also came to visit including Chipmunks, Squirrels and a Raccoon.

I love going for walks and looking for birds; but having a spot to just kick back and watch for a while is pretty sweet too. Believe me, I’ve been pondering on where we could plant a mullberry at home since the discovery of this tree.