Bad berries for birds ?

April 17, 2023 8:05 PM

In November I gathered a huge amount of fallen, frozen rowan (AKA mountain ash) berries thinking I might make jelly from a yet-untried fruit. As many Alaskans do, I put them in my large freezer - the front porch. Fast forward to April. After some freeze-thaw cycles, I still haven't made jelly. The berries - stored in plastic - are mushy, but don't smell "off." Meanwhile the Bohemian waxwings are acting hungry.

They LOVE these berries from the trees. Are they safe to put out for birds? Or are they possibly dangerous? I've googled it, but can't find anything definitive.

Would the birds get drunk from natural alcohol? Be poisoned with botulism? Have enough sense to avoid bad berries?

posted by wjm to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

If you are reluctant to eat it yourself, it's probably not a great idea to offer it to other animals.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 12:05 AM on April 18, 2023

Some results from medium-cursory Googling suggest it could get them a little drunk and get them in trouble with windows and, as an Alaska resident who has had a wall-of -windows-related bloodbath after a waxwing storm before when the birds likely weren’t drunk, I probably wouldn’t do it.
posted by charmedimsure at 1:18 AM on April 18, 2023

My dad, an ecologist with a focus on birds, once graphically described the aftermath he'd witnessed of a flock of cedar waxwings feeding on berries that had fermented on a bush next to a busy highway. I'd advise not doing it.
posted by telophase at 11:00 AM on April 18, 2023

Thanks all. I will (sadly) dispose of the berries.

Ardnamurchan you are exactly right.

Charmedimsure, thank you for being better at googling than I am and for sharing what you found. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Telophase, I don't even want to imagine it. Yow!

The berries are probably fine; when not frozen, they've been at near-freezing temperatures. But after reading your answers I'm not going to risk it.
posted by wjm at 1:03 PM on April 18, 2023