House Sparrows eating my apple buds (1 Viewer)

[NoSpringChicken]

I dearly love the House Sparrows in my garden but this year I have noticed a problem with them eating the buds on our small apple tree. There have been up to 12 birds on the tree at the same time all nipping off the buds. I have also seen Blue Tits doing the same thing. At first I thought they were after insects but closer inspection shows that they are definitely going for the buds. I love to see them in the garden but I like my apples too! I haven't noticed them doing it in previous years but we cleared some foliage surrounding the tree over the winter so perhaps we can just see it better now.

Has anybody else experienced this and can anyone suggest a simple means of discouraging this behaviour. I wouldn't mind but we spend a small fortune on seed for them. I guess they just fancy a bit of salad with it. 3

Ron

 

[silvercrest]

the sparrows are picking at the buds in my neighbours apple tree. i think the blue tits are at it too. ive seen the sparrows do it to the buddhlia in my garden. they dont eat - they seem to do it just for fun. i saw a bullfinch do it in a lane recently. i dont know why

 

[KC Foggin]

During nesting periods the birds are searching out lipids and apparently new spring growth is loaded with them.

 

[Peewit]

Hi Ron

Never heard of small birds doing that before. We have a Crab Apple Tree and it looks okay at the moment.

Try tying a piece of reflective foil into the tree, then no more birds! A bit like farmers do to keep birds out off their newly planted crops in the fields.

It will act as a deterrent and keep the birds away from the tree, or make them think twice about sitting on any part of it.

 

[FinglisCave]

I dearly love the House Sparrows in my garden but this year I have noticed a problem with them eating the buds on our small apple tree. There have been up to 12 birds on the tree at the same time all nipping off the buds. I have also seen Blue Tits doing the same thing. At first I thought they were after insects but closer inspection shows that they are definitely going for the buds. I love to see them in the garden but I like my apples too! I haven't noticed them doing it in previous years but we cleared some foliage surrounding the tree over the winter so perhaps we can just see it better now.

Has anybody else experienced this and can anyone suggest a simple means of discouraging this behaviour. I wouldn't mind but we spend a small fortune on seed for them. I guess they just fancy a bit of salad with it. 3

Ron

Yes, but only for the last 8 Yeas, prior to that I had plenty of Apples off my desert and cooker, Now I don't have any, the Sparrows eat every flower bud! It seems to be learned behaviour from continental birds mixing with the resident flock ? Up until 2017 I had never witnessed this and I have studied Birds for 50 years!

 

[PYRTLE]

Yes, but only for the last 8 Yeas, prior to that I had plenty of Apples off my desert and cooker, Now I don't have any, the Sparrows eat every flower bud! It seems to be learned behaviour from continental birds mixing with the resident flock ? Up until 2017 I had never witnessed this and I have studied Birds for 50 years!

Blame Brexit. I have only seen Blue Tits searching out fruit tree buds in my garden, rather than House Sparrows. The lack of fruit may be down to pruning ( lack of fruit buds ), pollination or disease.

 

[maplekong]

Hi! I’ve had the same problem with woodpigeons and my beautiful old Victoria plum trees, they are eating the flower buds and demolished about one quarter of them. It didn’t happen last year, which is strange. I just ended up scaring them off whenever I saw them, which seemed to work as there were only two who regularly visited. They’ve left since the flowers have opened.

 

[Cider Meister]

I moved an apple tree from back garden to front when it was about 4 years old. Previously lovely big juicy fruit, now stunted small things more like crab apples. Thinking to blame the sparrows in the hedge which attack it every spring. But because I'm getting some fruit, may be it's soil condition, poor pruning etc. Feedback and ideas welcome!

 

[PYRTLE]

I moved an apple tree from back garden to front when it was about 4 years old. Previously lovely big juicy fruit, now stunted small things more like crab apples. Thinking to blame the sparrows in the hedge which attack it every spring. But because I'm getting some fruit, may be it's soil condition, poor pruning etc. Feedback and ideas welcome!

Whilst I try to avoid chemicals whenever possible I do spray my apple and pear trees with a winter wash and also use a codling moth trap when the males are most active. Obviously other good practices are to prune correctly to encourage the fruiting spurs / thin out the growing crop ( better to have a couple of large healthy apples than say half a dozen measly examples ) and feed with a suitable product......seaweed or tomato. Mulching with a top dressing of peat free compost or well rooted farmyard manure also helps. Sparrows need food too.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

I was surprised to see this thread resurrected after fifteen years! The sparrows are no longer a problem for me as we got rid of the apple tree last year. The codling moth infestations had become so bad over the years that, in the end, we were not getting any unaffected apples from our large crops. We tried various remedies but none of them worked, so in the end we removed it and replaced it with a small weeping Cotoneaster tree. So far the birds haven't worked out how to perch on the weeping branches to eat the berries but I am sure they will eventually work it out.

Ron