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Nesting Season, Trees, Hedges – The Myths, the Facts & the Law…

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“It’s illegal to cut trees and hedges during nesting season” – MYTH

“Birds use nests all year round” – MYTH

“Trees can only be cut in the winter” – MYTH

Nesting season in the uk runs from the 1st of March until the 31st of August. However, this is only relevant to agricultural hedgerows and NOT domestic hedges. FACT. Why? Hedgerows bordering farm fields are almost always trimmed using a tractor mounted flail which are, by their very nature completely indiscriminate. The operator needs to be aware of traffic ahead and behind, keep an eye out for obstacles in the hedge such as trees and telegraph poles, all whilst ensuring they are keeping to a straight and even trim. So looking for tiny nests, hidden deep within a leafy hedge is nigh on impossible! But even this LAW has exceptions. For example, where the vegetation posses a risk to road safety.

Your hedge at home, and the birds that may be nesting in it, are covered by a different LAW. The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, in essence, makes it illegal to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird whilst it is being built or used. Obviously, this is more likely to be applicable during nesting season, but it’s not limited by it, as some species often nest outside of nesting season. This means all hedges and trees, should always be checked, all year round. In most cases this is a very simple and straightforward task for any experienced tree surgeon or gardener. It’s also quite simple to tell an active nest from an abandoned one. An old abandoned nest will almost always contain dry leaf litter that has built up from autumnal leaf fall. If a bird does choose to reuse a nest, it will thoroughly clean it out before it lays a new brood of eggs. And obviously an active nest will have a parent sat in it, or there will be eggs or chicks. But before you get anywhere near an active nest, the parent birds will usually tell you with a distraction. Chirping loudly from nearby, in an attempt to draw you away from their precious young. As soon as the young have fledged, the nest is abandoned. Often for good, but sometimes until the following year where it may get reused. Birds don’t sleep in nests! They roost!

The time of year trees should be pruned depends entirely on the species. However, winter is generally not recommended for most deciduous trees, as they are dormant and therefore unable to defend themselves from harmful bacteria and fungi.

Hymenoscyphus fraxineus / Chalara fraxinea / ASH DIEBACK

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Dutch Elm Disease for the 21st century. Like it or not, it’s going nowhere. Well, actually, it’s going everywhere, including the South Hams.

Left: Healthy Ash, Centre: Javier dismantling an infected Ash.

There is no cure or treatment for the disease and over time infected trees will weaken, causing branches to fall and trees to eventually collapse and die. Infection can lead to the death of young trees in just two to three years and of mature trees within 3 to 5 years. This presents a significant health and safety risk, especially alongside roads, public rights of way and woodland areas used by the public for recreation activities. (source: gov.uk)

Dieback showing in twigs at the top of the crown.

Symptoms of ash dieback include;

  • On leaves: Black blotches appear, often at the leaf base and midrib. Affected leaves wilt
  • On stems: Small lens-shaped lesions or necrotic spots appear on the bark of stems and branches and enlarge to form perennial cankers. The infection may girdle the stem and kill it in a single season. If the bark is peeled, the wood underneath has a brownish to grey discolouration. This discolouration extends beyond the bark necrosis
  • On the whole tree: Affected trees show extensive dieback of shoots, twigs and branches. Trees often have prolific epicormic shoots (shoots produced from previously dormant buds below the bark of the trunk or branches) (source: rhs.org.uk)
Signs of dieback on stems.

Beech Maintenance.

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Beech maintenance is best carried out during late Autumn, Winter, or once the tree has dropped it’s leaves. At this time, the majority of the tree’s nutrients have moved down into it’s roots, so when material is removed, less nutrients are lost.

If your Beech is in a small garden, close to overhead cables or next to a road or footpath, it’s a good idea to keep it’s size in check. This is done by carefully, and sympathetically reducing & thinning the crown at regular intervals.

Only a small amount should be removed at any one time, and this should be done no more frequently than 3 year intervals, to minimise stress to the tree. Before any thinning or reducing can be done, the whole tree should be checked for rubbing branches, and corrections made accordingly. The amount of rubbing branches removed, will dictate how much more can be removed during the thinning and/or reducing of the remaining crown.

Rubbing branches are a very common issue with Beeches. If left unattended, one of the branches will usually ‘win’, and one will ‘lose’, leading to a branch or limb failing, and ultimately falling. In a woodland this rarely causes an issue, and is part of the natural life cycle of the Beech. If however, there is a greenhouse or a footpath below, damage or injury could occur.

Once your Beech has dropped its leaves, take the opportunity to have a good look at the crown’s structure.

You know it’s going to be tricky if a farmer calls…

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There isn’t much a farmer can’t fix with baler twine, and there aren’t many trees that can’t be dealt with using a rope and a tractor. So when we were called to a farm near Kingsbridge, to deal with a mature Ash with Dieback, we knew it was going to be a challenge.

Having already had some large roots severed, and with the infestation of Dieback, climbing and dismantling was out of the question. The only specifications were to avoid damage to the barn to the south, and the static caravan to the east, so the tree was headed north! Of course, no tree job on a farm would be complete without a rope and tractor, so for ‘belt & braces’ they were used to give a little tug on the right direction.

As usual, everything went according to plan.

Ash (& Jack) in the Mill Pond.

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This week we had the pleasure of working at a beautiful mill near the river Erme. Unfortunately, during the recent high winds, a self-set Ash had let go of the mill pond bank, and fallen straight across the water to the opposite bank.

Not the best bridge…

With the pond drained, we set about carefully dismantling the Ash, leaving only a sprinkling of saw dust, and a neat pile of logs for their stove.

For anything trees, get in touch.

Thank goodness for chainsaw wellies!
#wearediligent

It Wasn’t Really Beech Weather…

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The recent storms have caused chaos and countless damage, and unfortunately many trees have been lost.

Bricklehampton Hall lost a very old veteran Beech, that was very close to the main entrance. Luckily, the only damage was to the lawn. But as it also fell across a car park, and narrowly missed a wall, things could have been very much worse.

Most days the car park is full.

Clearing up the damage, and dismantling the remaining trunks was a bittersweet experience for me. I grew up just around the corner, and fondly remember playing in its shadow on the long, hot summer days.

Clearing up the fallen Beech

The rot throughout the tree was so extensive, not only in the lower main union, but also much higher in one of the other trunks, it’s a small wonder that had stood for as long as it did.

Rot in a high limb
This part withstood the whole storm somehow
The rot and spalting in the main union

The silver lining to this stormy cloud is that some of the lower wood is spalted, and may make an excellent bowl or two, in the hands of a skilled wood turner.

Hopefully some of the wood may end up in the hands of a craftsman

A little tidy up in Little Comberton.

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20 years unmaintained.
Some recent work we carried out for Little Comberton parish council. Manor Lane had been left unmaintained for over 20 years. As well as some very overgrown Hazel clumps, there were some dangerous and rotten Damsons that were essentially, holding each other up.

The church is now visible when approaching from the east, and the bank is now ready for the old footpath to be reinstated. We will be back in the Autumn to plant Hawthorn and Dog Rose to fill in the gaps in the hedge. All works were carried out under the strict supervision of the parish council and Wychavon’s tree officer.

There’s the church!
All ready for the old footpath to be reinstated.

The Wind in the, Poplars?

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Carrant Brook, Mitton.

Poplars and Willows are very popular trees to plant near brooks and other natural drains that can easily flood. Mainly due to their natural thirst for water, and the fact they are a fast growing species

And there in lies the problem…

Fast growing species such as Willow and Poplar, are also inherently weak structured trees when compared to slower growing broad leaf species such as Oak or Elm. Without regular, professional maintenance they can soon dominate the sky, blocking out views and light. But more importantly, they can become ‘too heavy for their own good’. Enter the cold weather and strong winds, and you could soon be facing more than a leaf covered lawn.Pollarding is a common way to keep These trees in check. However, it must be done with correct cutting techniques and at a suitable frequency for the size and species of tree.

A difficult job made a little easier by fantastic weather.

This particular Poplar, had been left for too long, and the new growth had become dangerously heavy. It also hadn’t been pollarded correctly the last time, this led to some bucket rot and excessive deadwood.

Mind that fence James!

The close proximity of the tree to fences and other garden obstacles required some very careful lowering techniques. Progress was painfully slow, but by the time we ran out of light, everything was on the ground.

Pollard, done.

Dizzy heights

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Several days this week were spent reducing the height of two 50 year old Lombardy Poplars.

  
Initially the customer wanted them completely removed, through fear of them being blown over onto their block of stables. However, after discussing the plans with their next door neighbour, who remembers them being planted, the decision was made to have them reduced instead. By reducing them by a third, the sail effect has been dramatically reduced, giving them a much better chance of surviving high winds.

   
 At well over 30 meters tall, this kind of work isn’t for the faint hearted. And as one of the most awkward species of trees to climb, the job really pushed our limits. But the views made it all worth while…

   
    
    
 Happy neighbour + safer stables = happy customer.

Tales of the riverbank

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The Skywalkers team got to spend the day down by the river, enjoying some rare sunshine. In between felling four large Cedars!

Sunday is normally our only day of rest, but the customer only received planning permission to remove the light blocking behemoths on Friday. They were also desperate for the work to be done, due to imminent demolition, and subsequent building works.

As well as requiring planning permission, due to a blanket Tree Preservation Order (TPO) in a conservation area, the trees also had to fully surveyed for bats and nesting birds. 

 Due to the location of the site in Stratford-upon-Avon, Natural England also has to be consulted. They were happy for the removals to go ahead, in exchange for an archeological dig in the front and rear garden before the demolition works commenced!

  
At Skywalkers we always treat tree removal as a last resort, and we will always try and discourage a customer unless a complete removal is absolutely necessary. But in this case, the neighbouring gardens both contained several other Western Red Cedars, so we were happy to comply with the customers wishes. The trees almost completely blocked the customer’s view of the Avon, as well as keeping the garden in constant shadow. This in turn, was having a detrimental effect on other species attempting to grow in their narrow riverside garden.