This week: Leave Snags Standing for Birds
Hello!
This newsletter is typically focused on living plants, but there is also ecological value in dead ones, often for habitat creation. We’re encouraged to leave the leaves for overwintering insects, and let perennials stand all winter long to provide cover, bird nest supplies, and of course, seed heads. But what about dead trees?
In nature, some trees fall while others die standing. These dead or dying trees are called snags. Leaving them in place is beneficial to wildlife, especially birds, provided it can be done safely. Tall snags can be left anywhere that is away from structures and thoroughfares, or limbs can be stripped to improve safety. Snags can even be as short as six feet and can be inconspicuously worked into a landscape, especially ones with abundant trees and shrubs.
Snags Are Bird Apartment Complexes
So, what makes snags so beneficial? As the tree decays, it becomes host to a variety of delicious insects, which attract woodpeckers who drill holes into the trunks. Rot also forms natural cavities. Once the cavities are created, birds move in, notably Bluebirds, Tufted Titmice, Nuthatches, Carolina Chickadees, Great Crested Flycatchers, Barred Owls, Northern Saw-whet Owls, and my favorite, Eastern Screech Owls, to name just a few.
If the snag is tall enough, raptors such as Bald Eagles and hawks will nest on top. While nesting boxes are a popular alternative to leaving snags, snags are preferable because they house a greater variety of species and don’t require upkeep.
What Makes a Tree a Snag?
Snags are a minimum of six feet tall, though taller is better. They have diameters of a foot or more at breast height, though snags can be made out of trunks of trees with as little as a three-inch diameter.
Snag Alternatives
If a snag isn’t advisable, and your landscape has a natural look, leave some logs on the ground as if they had fallen naturally for a whole host of other ecological benefits. If the entire tree must come down, a high stump does more for wildlife than one that is cut flush to the ground or is ground-out.
Elsewhere:
It’s time for the final update of the season to the list of native plants available at big-box stores! Over the season, each store sold between 30 and 40 native trees, shrubs, and perennials. While a few straight species were present (usually trees), most were cultivars. Either way, this shows that native plants aren’t as hard to find as you might think! (And, you'll probably have even better luck at your local nursery.)
Have a good week,
Julie