Nandina Berries: Pretty Poison for Some Beautiful Birds
One of the South's popular evergreen shrubs, Nandina, or "Heavenly Bamboo," sports attractive red berries in the fall. But there is nothing heavenly about them. The Nandina domestica shrub is non-native and invasive. The toxic berries contain cyanide, and when eaten in quantity, have been proven to kill groups of beautiful Cedar Waxwings.
This handsome native bird gobbles berries in the winter, and a flock can strip a tree or bush in no time. When birders in Georgia discovered a group of 60 dead Cedar Waxwings, an investigation discovered they had gorged themselves on Nandina berries, and the cyanide caused them to drop dead.
What to do? The Facebook page, Tennessee Naturalists, had some good suggestions. Easiest: cut the spent flowers so that the berries don't form. Or cut the ripening berries, wrap them well, and place them in the trash, not the compost heap. If you can, dig up the Nandina and replace it with native plants such as Beautyberry, (Callicarpa americana.) The birds will thank you!
Jane Word