https://youtu.be/gAxsDAseKrI?si=rPFB2bBoNENg0ase
I was listening to this talk, and at 12:15ish he says burford holly berries kill cedar waxwings, then says it several more times over the course of the talk.
Do they? I can't find any other resources that say so, and it seems he just saw one died once. That's not enough evidence for me to cut mine down, but I would like to be sure.
I already knew about the nandina being poisonous
by Dry-Impression8809
3 Comments
All I found is that the birds can tend to gorge on the berries if other food sources are scarce, resulting in intoxication (and secondary harm).
We have this problem with Grizzly bears. Corn spilled on the railroad tracks will get buried by the crew, ferment, the bears smell it and dig it up, get drunk, then get hit by trains or traffic in the area.
I only found this: [https://www.poison.org/articles/holly-berries](https://www.poison.org/articles/holly-berries) Which indicates that they are somewhat toxic to humans and pets, which does not necessarily mean toxic for birds, but why plant that when you can plant our native species of holly?
Cedar waxwings are notorious for gorging on fruit and occasionally killing themselves. Many native fruits produce alcohol when fermented and, in large amounts, can be toxic to cedar waxwings or make them drunk. Both native and non-native hollies can produce ethanol when fermented.
I believe Nandina has cyanide in the flesh (contrasted with say Black Cherry which only has it in the seed). I did not watch the entire video but presumably the issue with Ilex cornuta is that it is invasive and birds spread the seed into the wild. The southeast USA has many native species of Ilex–there is no need to plant non-native hollies. Many of our worst invasives, including Ilex cornuta, Holly Olive, and Nandina, are spread from ornamental plantings into the wild via birds.