06 April 2023

Ivy berries

Look out for the last Ivy berries, now black, soft and partially eaten by birds such as blackbirds, thrushes, robins and wood pigeons. They also provide food for holly blue butterflies. This stage of Ivy is not always recognised because the leaves are simple, more oval than the more recognised three lobed Ivy leaves on the plant in its climbing phase. It is not parasitic, but gets nutrients from its own roots rather than the tree onto which it clings with tiny roots. Some thrushes, blackbirds and wrens are now building nests in Ivy. Love or hate it, Ivy is part of our native Irish biodiversity.