We have several mulberry trees (including a weeping mulberry) on our Littleton farm and, though the crop is a bit late, it is plentiful. As usual, the trees and their patrons are making quite a mess on the driveway and walkways.
American robins and house finches are the most abundant consumers, joined by magpies, crows, starlings, blue jays, cedar waxwings, lesser goldfinches and even broad-tailed hummingbirds. Bullock's orioles are irregular visitors (one stopped by this afternoon) and western tanagers may partake of the fruit though most remain in the upper foothill forests during the summer months. Mammalian patrons include fox squirrels, raccoons, skunks and red fox; no doubt, mice and voles also scour the ground for fallen fruit at night.
As I have mentioned in the past, mulberry trees are good trees to plant in semiarid environments. While they attract an excellent diversity of wildlife they are also drought tolerant; I have never watered those on our property and they manage just fine with what moisture nature provides.
