The Birdtree, l’arbre aux oiseaux
An occasional blog on books and nature by Samuel LeGresley
The “Birdtree” name comes from a literal translation of the French expression L’arbre aux oiseaux, used by Middle-Age monks in Europe for the Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier sp.) as it attracted birds to their monasteries’ cloisters.
Since then, the Amélanchier, itself derived from the Occitan language, has had many names among settlers. One is the Serviceberry, another is Shadbush, another is Saskatoon, derived from the Cree word for the shrub.
The shrub is also found here and used by native inhabitants to the Wabanaki-Acadian forest region, the Mi’kmaq and the Wolastoqiyik. They respectively call this shrub glamuejmnaqsi and anqotuwawimus.
For a few days only in the spring, it puts on a show for pollinators with its long-petaled white flowers, to reward everyone including birds and people with its fruits that taste like small pears, in midsummer.
But this species is just one of the many plants attracting the birds, the bees and the rest. In 2023, I opted to create a kind of “nature journal” here on Substack, for my English-language readers. Since then, I created Sharing Our Nature, which covers seed libraries and my adventures in nature.
Blog aussi disponible en français : Partager notre nature
Here on birdtree.blog, I will update you on my literary journey to better document our region. Recently, I also created birdtree.land, a 90s-inspired website to express myself artistically.
Interested to hear more?
