Dead wood
Our neighbours on the eastern boundary have a tree that died last year, I thought for years that it was a Larch, as it was a deciduous conifer. Subsequent investigations reveal that, in fact it was a species of Redwood, although, thankfully not the North-American Giant Redwood (sequoiadendron giganteum).This is all well and good, but the fact remains that there is this dead tree, very tall and flag-pole straight which overlooks most of the gardens. Not surprisingly it is a favoured vantage point for many birds of a more cautious variety; most commonly the parakeets perch in it, in what I assume is some sort of pecking order. The bird at the top is usually the most vocal, and if and when it flies off, the others all follow.
Today I wandered down the garden and I could hear the beeping noise that lesser spotted woodpeckers make (not dissimilar to a blackbird alarm call, except it is a single note). Two days ago I had seen a bird on the tree, and it had flown away once it had realised it was the object of attention. Today, it was more interested in circling the trunk, and probing at what must be flaking bark.
As it worked its way up the tree, I was delighted to see another bird emerge from behind the trunk, about three feet further down, and in an amicable sort of way they continued to investigate the bark. I don't know where they might nest, there is not much in the way woodland round here, but the possibility that we have a breeding pair on our territory would be really pleasing.
posted by Lampy @ 8/06/2005 04:34:00 pm
3 Comments:
Five questions:
What does the future hold for your neighbour's dead tree, do you think?
Will it need to be removed, for fear its atrophying roots will cause subsidence?
Do woodpeckers prefer dead wood?
Should parakeets be discouraged?
Would it be better to preserve the dead tree as it is, or plant a new healthy tree, perhaps a native, which would be suitable for growing in a city garden?
The reason I know what it is, is that they have applied for planning permission to have it taken down. Woodpeckers eat the grubs and larvae that decaying wood attract, they are not drilling into the outer hardwood layer (xylem), but rather probing beneath the bark as it decays.
So, to answer your questions in order:
The tree will be taken down, I'll ask for some of it, which I'll leave around the place.
Redwoods are very shallow rooting, which is probably why it has died (excessive cultivation, dry climate). Unlikely to cause any structural damage, the guide is 1.5 times the maximum height is a safe distance to plant a deciduous tree, in this case we are talking over 100 feet (33m) from the house.
Woodpeckers don't do live wood as such, they pick at the bark of dead and dying timber, eating the parasites that are there.
How do you discourage a parakeet? Avril Lavigne seems to work, but the cure might be worse than the condition. I'm happy to see them, they can't be blamed for the disapearance of the london sparrow (probably the magpie explosion), they are a new and exotic addition to london's fauna.
There is no option, in about six months time, if there is a stiff breeze, the tree will come down, it's just question of when, and whose wall it will bring down. There is nothing apart from a giant redwood that you couldn't replace it with, our gardens are 60m x 20m, so there's plenty of choices available.
Hope this helps
Thank you, you have been most informative. We have woodpeckers (red/black, not green) in our garden from time to time, but no parakeets.
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