If I see wild birds eating fruits from a tree...

[MomtoPercy]

In my garden, can I assume the branches would be safe for my fid? They aren't "fruit" trees (like apple eg) but they produce little red fruits and seed pods.

 

[Kalidasa]

Post a pic and hopefully someone will recognize the plant and you can find out if its safe or not.

 

[getwozzy]

I agree- can you post a picture of the tree and a close up of the "fruit"?

 

[MomtoPercy]

This is Tree #1 :

A distance view. This tree is extemely popular with doves who eat the seeds when the pods burst open and finches, who nest high up.

A close view of leaves, a seed pod and a pod I broke open. It contains bright orange seeds with a black spot on the side.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I'm not sure of the species, but you can't base safety on wild birds. I have a Chinese tallow tree that wild birds LOVE. They devour the seeds greedily! But the tree itself is toxic. Same with citrus trees, as well as tomatoes - you can eat/feed the fruit but not the leaves or branches.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Tree #2 :

This is trimmed to a hedge in our back yard. It produces small cream coloured/whitish flowers which later make way to dark purple/maroon berries about the size of a pea. Every bird around here loooves them! Toucans, doves, finches.

Another view.

We also have a tree on our pavement. This is a pic of it showing the flower buds (not yet open).

A close up of the leaves and unopened flower buds.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Tree #3

I've been told this is not an indiginous tree. It makes loads of yellow flowers which are later replaced with these seed pods. The only birds that love this tree for food, are sunbirds who drink the nectar from the flowers. I don't even thing any birds nest in this tree.

Close up of leaves, a flower I picked up from the ground (lucky find because its past flowering) and the seed pods with the papery seed thingies inside.

Please tell me if you guys can identify any of these? I'm desperate to find natural wood for Percy but I struggle to trust people who tell me they "think" the tree is 'this or that' and they "are relatively sure" the tree wasn't sprayed with anything.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to natural forests. We do have them but they are either on private or government property, or they are in areas that are unsafe for me to visit by myself.

The only trees I CAN trust are my neighbour's guava and mulberry trees but he did a big prune a while ago and didn't keep me any branches, the fool!

 

[WesselG]

The only advice I can think of is to take the photographs, branches, seedpods etc to your local garden centre. They might have a person knowledgeable enough to identify at least which trees you're dealing with.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Thanks guys - I was actually thinking along the same line as copperarabian's comment and abandoned the idea. I went collecting safe branches elsewhere this morning