Do peaches ripen after they have been picked?

I was wondering if I can pick my almost-ripe peaches before the birds destroy them.

I don't know if they will continue to full ripeness, once picked.

Thank you for any information provided.

Jean

YES

Yes, but the flavor will not be as good as if they stayed on the tree until fully ripe. What kind of birds do you have? I have to wrestle squirrels but never birds.

Farmer, this neighborhood is lousy with squirrels, so they might also be guilty.

There are quite a number of birds in residence also, and I always joke about them being vultures and theives. They ate ALL of my mulberries except the three berries I picked, and will clean the fig tree in a matter of hours.

I have been finding peaches with smaller holes (probably from bird beaks) and also larger chewed-out areas (might be the squirrels).

I live in an old-fashioned suburban neighborhood with lots of mature trees, and we put out seed and treats for the birds and the squirrels -- I like to watch them and they drive my inside cats nuts :D

It might be my imagination, but there seem to be certain pairs of birds that return regularly, especially the cardinals and blue jays.

There are mockingbirds (they regularly dive-bomb the neighborhood cats), sparrows, purple martins, sparrow-like birds which I have not yet identified, noisy crows, hawks, red-wing blackbirds, and tons of mourning doves (who are supposed to be ground-feeders -- it is funny to see about six of those "ground-feeders" hanging off the birdfeeder).

One day, I hope to see a cedar wax-wing and a bluebird, but I am not certain that there are any in the New Orleans area.