WHAT’S your favourite apple? Is it a mild and tart Granny Smith’s or a sweet and tangy Pink Lady? Dúlra’s tastes change with the seasons – maybe a juicy green apple in summer and a rich red in winter.
But he’s got a new all-round favourite – thanks to the birds in his garden.
We all throw scraps and bread out for the birds and many people go that wee bit further by filling hangers with seeds or nuts. It’s an extra expense but not only does it help birds survive winter, their antics will brighten up your home and indeed your day.
But in recent times Dúlra has gone one step further and offered them fruit. He cuts in half an apple every day and tosses it onto the lawn. Unlike the bread which is gobbled up immediately by a host of visitors, the apple could sit there quite a while. But eventually the blackbirds and thrushes will take notice.
These birds aren’t resident – they don’t live here all year around. They are passing through having travelled across the Irish Sea – many will have started their journey in autumn from continental Europe. And they behave like refugees in a strange land. These birds are jumpy and nervous, so unlike the blackbirds and thrushes that grace many of our gardens and parks in summer.
They have fled the familiar surrounds of their neat garden in, say, Germany and have travelled across stormy seas before arriving in Ireland. Their survival until spring depends on constantly travelling, moving on as soon as the food source has been emptied.
But these travelling birds will inevitably spot the half-apples in Dúlra’s garden. This week he had 12 blackbirds taking turns to peck at them.
The apples might last an hour or two and Dúlra’s pockets aren’t that deep. So he decided to fix one on to a nail on the fence. And that’s when he realised that the garden birds too have a favourite type of apple.
He tried ‘cookers’ – they are the biggest and, pound for pound, the cheapest. But you need a tough beak to cut through them. Then some great value Armagh red and green ones – they were more popular on the ground. Granny Smith’s seemed to last forever on the nail as if the birds found them a bit too sour. And then he discovered their favourite of favourites – the apple which has been voted by the kingdom of the birds to be the best of all. The Golden Delicious.
When Dúlra fixes this apple onto the nail – it’s best to half-peel it so the flesh is exposed but it still has some strength – there seems to be a ripple of excitement in the garden. It was as if the birds were nudging each other with the info ‘Have you heard those juicy apples are back in Dúlra’s garden?’
The birds would gradually land on the fence and soon there would be a wee gang of them all waiting their turn: Blackbirds, starlings, robins and blue tits.
The Golden Delicious was invented in America in 1905 and today it’s still one of the world’s favourites. It’s described as very sweet and perfect for making apple pies.
But the crowning glory for Dúlra was when a surprise visitor came to dine – a pair of long-tailed tits, meantán earrfhada in Irish. He wasn’t even aware that these birds ate apples at all.
But here they are – getting stuck into a Golden Delicious. They may not be the cheapest of apples, but from now on, they’re going to be on the shopping list every time!
• If you’ve seen or photographed anything interesting, or have any nature questions, you can text Dúlra on 07801 414804.
