Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

As far as I know, winterberry is the only plant in the Holly family that grows here. I usually find it along the edges of paths in the swamps. I took this picture earlier this fall when the shrub still had leaves. The birds aren't that interested in the berries yet - too hard. As the fall progresses, the leaves fall off but the berries remain. Through successive nightly freezing and thaws during the day, the berries soften and the birds start eating them. So I went out to get a picture of the plant w/ just the berries - usually looks very festive. I couldn't find any berries. I noticed on the way home that there weren't any crabapples left, no hawthorn berries, no fruits of any kind. Might be a very tough winter for the birds that choose to remain.