Texas Gardening: Hummingbird Bush and Mockingbirds, 1 by crowellli

crowellli wrote:
My Hummingbird bush (hamelia patens) is huge and I've noticed a ton of birds at it. I realized there are mockingbirds, cardinals and some other small bird I don't recognize (and it won't stay still long enough for me to try to identify) eating the berries off it. I haven't noticed this before, and it may be because the bush is so large this year that I have so many birds there. I read the thread about vitex and cardinals and am interested in other plants that are attractive to birds. I have a duranta and it's loaded with yellow drupes this year, but I haven't seen many birds at it. Does anyone know if birds find that fruit attractive? Since it's common name is pigeon berry, I had assumed that birds would eat it. If not, I've got a monster bush in the back garden that may have to go. Here's a pic of a goldfinch and a purple finch near the feeders. The purple finch looks so funny. It's almost like he's all puffed up and has an expression that asks "are you taking that pic of me?"