Tree Care That Helps Birds And Other Wildlife
As a property owner or renter, you have the privilege of managing one of the most important outdoor resources: your trees. How can you care for your trees — whether you have one or a hundred — in ways that help local wildlife? Here are five tips anyone can apply.
1. Trim Outside Nesting Season
First, one of the most vital moves tree owners can make is to schedule nonurgent tree pruning and tree trimming when birds are not nesting. Nests can be hard to spot, so it's easy to injure or kill delicate eggs and protective parents. The good news is that fall and winter are often good times to prune dormant trees — and well outside the spring nesting season for most birds.
2. Don't Cut Everything Down
It can be tempting to remove many or all of the trees on a certain piece of land. This is particularly appealing if you plan to build a house or a pool, or if you worry about fire danger. However, birds and other wildlife rely on trees for food, water, protection, housing, and nesting. So be judicious about cutting down trees, removing them when necessary, but leaving plenty for the local fauna to call home.
3. Maintain Your Trees
While you don't want to take away all the potential usefulness of a tree, you also don't want to leave it completely unkempt. First, this can damage the tree and make it less likely to survive and thrive as a habitat. It may also encourage the wrong kinds of wildlife, such as dangerous pests. And it can easily create a fire hazard — which is bad for humans and wildlife.
4. Encourage Positive Wildlife
Did you know that different species like different kinds of trees? For instance, orioles tend to like palms, ash trees, and eucalyptus. Hawks, on the other hand, prefer tall pine trees. Hawks can be great for your property, as they eat pests like mice, snakes, and rats. Learn more about the species in your local region and how you can provide an ideal tree to encourage them to come and stay.
5. Explain Your Goal
Discuss your wildlife concerns and goals with any tree care provider you work with. Let them know that you value the protection of bird and animal nests. Ask them to perform a nest inspection and stop if nests are found. Tree care services want to do the work efficiently and effectively, but they also want to meet your needs. So identify your priorities before work begins.
Where Should You Start?
Create a tree care routine that helps both the trees and any local wildlife by meeting with a qualified tree care service in your local area. With their help, you and your animal neighbors can cohabit successfully for many years.