Until I moved here to the cabin, Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) was just a plant that I needed to avoid. Those three leaves – beware. But now I have learned there is so much more to know about the plant. There are buds in May (in the photo above, left). And believe it or not, flowers in June (in the photo above, right).

Then in July there are green berries (in the photo above, left). By October those green berries are turning to white (in the photo above, right).

Come January those white berries are perfect for tempting Chickadees, and many different species of woodpeckers. Surely there are many other birds that enjoy the berries but these are the ones that I see most often eating them. Of course you have recognized the Chickadee in the picture on the left. And here, in the photo above, on the right, is a Pileated Woodpecker and at the bottom of the that photo, is a Northern Flicker.

Though I’m extremely allergic to Poison Ivy I really enjoy having it around, for the birds.

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