Thursday, May 31, 2012

From Philip on Calderdale-Wildlife Blogspot

Tree tube shelters can be killers



I read that tree tubes can be a hazard for young birds. They get in them for insects etc but then find they cannot get out. Some tubes have been found with many dead birds. I am not sure whether this problem is recognised in this country but in America tree tubes have to have a 'top' to prevent entry by birds.

With the many thousands of tree tubes in Calderdale, standing for years on end, does anyone know if there is a problem with dead birds locally?

2 comments:

Jeff Cox said...

I've just done a Google search for news items and there are lots of references to this on the web, primarily in the US as Steve says. I'll have a look in some of the tubes around here and get back to you.

Chris said...

I've worked with tree shelters for over 15 years, both putting them on and removing them once trees have outgrown them. In all that time I have never found any dead birds in tubes. Occasionally have found mice nests (shelters left on in this case). Not had any comments from colleagues about bird casualties but will keep an eye out now.