The squirrels keep burying acorns in our yard. Soon we will be living in an oak forest.
A small rabbit is eating from the bird feeder bowl, bending to the bowl, sitting up and chewing. I am curious what it is eating.
The squirrels are afraid of the rabbit and back off as the rabbit timidly approaches. The rabbit is also afraid of the squirrels when they move quickly. When the squirrels fight on the feeder, the seeds go flying and the little sparrows have to work hard to find them all.
The robins are eating the pokeberries, which I thought were poisonous—time for some research!
I love it when the sparrows fly through the sun and their wings light up.
2 comments:
Lovely observation.
Poke berries are poisonous, got you a copy from a link which says,
Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous to mammals. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin because the small seeds with incredibly hard outer shells remain intact in the digestive system and are eliminated whole.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070918120633AAyEIgO
I also read that 10 berries do no harm if eaten by a healthy human... but who knows...
However, we use only poke roots in herbal medicine against cancer and others, but it must be handled with extreme care.
Brigitte, Thanks for the info--I was busy and then forgot to look it up. I appreciate your kindness. :-D
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