Hawthorn provides rich pickings for our wintering birds

The hawthorn is a marvellous feature of our hedgerows and scrub and at this time of year is still laden with a good crop of haws—the small, bitter but colourful fruit of the hawthorn bush.

Hawthorn berries in the October sunshine

Hawthorn is probably the most common hedgerow species, planted in profusion and providing rich benefits to bird species throughout the autumn and winter months.  Our resident thrush species are bolstered by fieldfares and redwings, the winter migrants that are a common sight in the fields around our villages.