A nearby trail skirts along land growing wild for a few decades. It probably used to be a small farm. In one part there are a few apple trees. In other places, crab-apples, hawthorns, and dogwoods dominate. In the autumn, I have often seen birds eating the small fruit and I have sometimes seen Eastern Grey Squirrels carrying off the full-sized apples. But one day this fall, I saw something that surprised me: a flock of House Finches busily feeding in an apple tree.
Do House Finches Eat Regular Apples? Or Just the Seeds?
I stood trying to get a decent look at the House Finches in case they were migrating Purple Finches. That’s when I noticed the birds were digging their bills into ripe soft apples.
Were they actually eating the apples? Or were they trying to get to the seeds or insects inside the apples?
As I watched, they clearly were breaking off and eating chunks of the apple itself.
It shouldn’t have surprised me, I’ve often seen birds eating crab-apples, but for some reason I was startled.
I wonder if House Finches can be a pest to commercial apple farmers? Given that House Finches don’t really move around in large flocks like European Starlings, probably not.
It was one of those “learn something new every day” walks. I wonder what I’ll see next time that I don’t expect?
Related Reading
- What is This Red “Sparrow” Visiting My Feeder?
- What Is This Raspberry-Juice Drenched Finch?
- Goldfinch on Goldenrod
Join In
Do you have an apple tree? What creatures try to eat your apples? Please share your experience with a comment.
very cool! That’s a new one for me.