Thrushes and whitebeam berries

Whitebeams, a tree related to the rowan, is fruiting now. They have contrasting good and bad years in fruiting (masting trees), and the fruits do not last long, becoming brown and shriveled in about a month from ripening, but berries are large fruits with a lot of pulp compared to the seed content, so they are very rewarding food when available.
Woodpigeons and Crows like the fruit, and so do all thrushes, but they are too large for Robins, Blackcaps and Starlings. They are also eaten (pecked as opposed to eaten whole) or their seeds predated by Blue Tits, Chaffinches and Greenfinches.
 In my local park yesterday, there was a strong contrast between the colour of the fruits of a line of whitebeams. One of them had the brightest red berries, and Woodpigeons and Blackbirds were feeding on it. Note the bulging crop of the Blackbird in the photo above.
 Two trees at the other end of the line had still many unripe berries and as a flock of mixed finches and tits, including goldfinches, chaffinches and great and blue tits descended on it. Suddenly, it became apparent this tree had an owner. A Mistle Thrush started churring vigorously from its centre, while flicking its wings and tail. It seems to make little impact on the little birds, although it kept going for quite a while.

Woodpigeon feeding amongst the berries

Mistle thrush on guard.

And the very nervous one in this short clip.

More information
Snow, B. K., & Snow, D. (2011). Birds and berries. A&C Black. In Google Books.

Guarding the berries

The rowan in the garden is laden with succulent berries. Blackbirds have been showing an interest in the rowan since the beginning of the month. On the 9th, a male tried them, picking them up, and dropping them. It have me the impression it was checking how ripe they were, and he just felt they weren't quite right. Since them, I have flushed the blackbirds from the rowan a few times, often a pair. I watched a male feeding on honesuckle berries yesterday, while the cotoneaster does not seem to be ripe yet. This distinctive male - note the pair of white feathers on his chest - sat on the rowan for a while, surrounded by the colourful changing leaves of the tree and the clumps of heavy berries. Typical blackbird 'sitting' behaviour, quietly guarding his sweet red crop.

The Yew Thrush

Mistle Thrush on a Yew

A closer shot of a Mistle Thrush

The Yew tree is laden with bright red, soft berries at the end of a church garden. On top of it is a bird, with a ratchety voice, guarding the precious sweet load, a Mistle thrush. Individual Mistle Thrushes become territorial during the winter months and defend their tree of intruders, either conspecifics or other thrush species. They eat their berries economically, feeding on the ground when possible, and leaving the berries for frosty days. The tree, thus, retains its bright berries for most of the winter. Only in very cold winters, will the Mistle Thrush be unable to enforce his possessions and must relent to the flocks of other hungry thrushes that want to feed. They are seen to defend Ivy berries, Mistletoe and, preferentially Holly trees.

Yew Berries. The only non-toxic part of the tree is the red aril surrounding the seeds, which thrushes help disperse.

More information

Barbara Snow & David Snow (1982) Long-term defence of fruit in Mistle Thrushes, Turdus viscivorus.  Ibis, 126: 39–49. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1984.tb03662.x