I have a plumb tree and every year when there its totally bare with no leaves it attaches loads of brightly colored small birds (finches or tits) and they seem to be picking off things from the branches. They can be a dozen or more of these birds on it daily.

Are they eating the buds? I cannot see anything on the branches.

Cheers

BTW the tree is next to a brook if that has any influence.

Probably overwintering bugs/catterpillars/maggoty things, spray it with a winter wash like the Vitax one.

I have a plumb tree

All the trees in my garden are slightly off the vertical

7 minutes too slow, but for a bonus point I think it may be a Gum tree, if birds get attached to it?

but for a bonus point I think it may be a Gum tree, if birds get attached to it?

If they’re finches, they’re (probably) eating the buds.
If they’re tits, they’re (probably) eating insects.
Get a hawk/owl silhouette thing on a post or hanging from the tree – see if it puts them off.

Why not just leave them to it?

Why not just leave them to it?

and

All the trees in my garden are slightly off the vertical

Curses, beaten to it….

I’d leave them to it – but I suspect the op wants a crop of juicy plums…

Thanks for all the comments, you learn new things every day on this forum and the rich vein of comedy that flows through it is still alive and healthy ! 😀

Plumb LOL my bad.

After reading the above comments I am 99% sure they are tits eating insects off the tree branches. I get a large crop of fruit anyway and you can only eat a certain amount of plums (I also give the neighbours loads as well)

I do enjoy the sight of tits on my plums in the morning, so I will let nature get on with it and we are all happy.

I do enjoy the sight of tits on my plums in the morning, so I will let nature get on with it and we are all happy.

…..especially at the ending.

😆

My neighbor ,Doreen is a gardenist of 80 years& is like a breathing gardening wikipedia. She recommends a band of grease smeared around the tree trunk or large branches of fruit trees to prevent insects walking up the tree,laying eggs and infesting the fruit and foliage.Apparently my apples and pears will be much better this coming harvest… Bad news for the birds though….

If your tree’s a bit poorly (which stone fruit trees often are), they can hang onto their fruit well after its leaves have fallen. The birds maybe picking these off, they will have shrivelled up by now though, so won’t look like plums.

joat – Member
If your tree’s a bit poorly (which stone fruit trees often are), they can hang onto their fruit well after its leaves have fallen. The birds maybe picking these off, they will have shrivelled up by now though, so won’t look like plums.

Cheers joat, my plums where so shrivelled yesterday morning after the bike ride they definitely did not look like plums, more like a walnut to be fair.

Probably long tailed tits eating insects. They sort of hang around in groups and visit a tree in a group, eat the insects and move on. They’re your friends…. Saving you paying for grease and insect killer…

As long as you’ve got plums live and let live…. ( good t shirt slogan that!)