Whats eating my plums?

[juliacox]

Hi
I have a young plum tree and this year its produced about 6 good sized fruits but something seems to have nibbled only the ripening fruits, the unripe fruits are untouched but the ripening fruits looks to me like some of the flesh has been nibbled away and where its exposed the flesh the flesh has gone brown and shrivelled up.

Is this a disease or pest thing?

Can anyone advise please?

Thank you

[veggiechicken]

Hi Julia and welcome to the Forum!
My guess is squirrels or birds having a go at them - maybe wasps. Plum flesh goes brown when exposed to air anyway so thats just the result of the nibble.
Since this is just my guess, you'll be asked the following questions by others coming along after me (who will be more knowledgeable!):
1. a photo would be helpful
2. if you add your location to your profile it will help us understand your local conditions.
Thanks.

[Thelma Sanders]

In my old garden it was always birds pecking them, then once a hole was made the wasps come along to get at the sweetness. Then you couldn't pick them for fear of being stung

[juliacox]

Thanks for the replies, i have added my location now. I guess its perhaps wasps or birds then, just hope they dont eat them all as i never got any plums last year as the fruit shrunk and died before i could pick them.

[rustylady]

How big is your tree Julia? You say you only have 6 fruit so I'm guessing it's a small, young tree. Would it be possible to place a small mesh bag over each fruit to protect it while it ripens? This probably won't be such an issue when the tree is bigger and producing more fruit but it seems a shame to lose what little you have. Believe it or not snails are a major problem on my Victoria, they climb into the branches and snack on the fruit.