Does this image make you want to get a chainsaw or a pair of binoculars?
Due to modern conditioning, we assume dead trees are no longer useful to us and therefore become something that needs to be removed. What is often not known is that eliminating dead trees from our backyards can take away a key component of wildlife habitat. Barring any safety issues, dead trees are accused of creating a negative aesthetic in the community. A homeowner can feel pressure from the neighborhood for allowing a dead tree to stand. Mankind’s strong misperception that nature has to be “cleaned up”, by removing natural items that do not look orderly to us, can cause a real loss of habitat. For these “dead” trees are actually full of benefits, providing habitat and food for birds and insects before ending up replenishing the soil for new life. The National Wildlife Federation estimates that “the removal of dead material from forests can mean a loss of habitat for up to one-fifth of the animals in the ecosystem.”
Dead trees, and parts of them, serve an important niche in attracting and promoting bird habitat. A “snag” is part of a dead tree left upright to decompose naturally. It can be naturally formed when a tree breaks up into parts or it can be man-made by leaving 10 to 20 feet of the trunk left standing when chainsawing a dead tree.
Here are some reasons dead trees and their snags benefit birds and nature:
Nesting and Roosting:
In North America, 55 bird species are cavity nesters. Chickadees of fond of shorter snags under 20 feet to locate their nests. They find a soft spot on the trunk to start carrying away the decomposing wood until they have removed enough to carve out their nest space. Seeing a vertical snag like below is a very attractive nesting option to the chickadee.
Perching:
Besides nesting, birds use dead trees for domain-watching, hunting for food and just plain hanging out without the hassles of dealing with leaves. If your dead tree or snag is strategically located, you are pretty much guaranteed a steady stream of bird visitors.
For birding humans, this provides great viewing and photo opportunities.
Foraging:
Dead trees are an insect magnet thus attracting woodpeckers to feed. The soft wood makes it easy for insects such as carpenter ants to nest in and equally easy for woodpeckers, such as the Pileated, to drill away large chunks of wood to get at the colonies to eat them.
When a snag falls down, it makes a horizontal log that can be important resting areas especially in wetlands and water bodies.
And on the forest floor, the decomposing snag begins a whole new process of refreshing the soil from which new plants will grow. Although it appears to be a static object, the dead tree or snag is very much dynamic to the web of life!
Saw many ibis in Naples FL this month.