Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
ranged from ten inches to nearly three feet in diameter and towered up to sev-
enty feet. They provided perch sites immediately and a long-lasting supply of
potential cavities after decay set in. I worked with a friend who won the 2005
International Tree Climbing Championship, Dan Kraus, to fashion snags es-
pecially attractive to wildlife. Dan cut slits in the snags that bats might use for
roosting, started holes to speed up the decay process, scarred up some of the
bark as lightning might, and trimmed the tops to look like natural breaks.
Red-breasted sapsuckers, hairy woodpeckers, northern l ickers, and pileated
woodpeckers all visited the snags within three months of their creation. These
species hammered out beetle larvae and termites from beneath the bark, but
none bred. Finally, in year three, hairy woodpeckers broke the ice. Fungi and
the workings of woodpeckers softened up the snags enough to allow chestnut-
backed chickadees to nest in two snags in year four. At this time the bark also
started to peel away from a few snags, and a brown creeper placed its nest se-
curely between the tree bole and bark l ap. I'm still waiting for pileated wood-
peckers to dig a house in my larger snags, but they require a pithy core and
solid wooden wall that is possible only with heart-rot fungi. This process will
take more time. Until the pileateds drill, I enjoy the occasional visits by red-
tailed hawks, great horned owls, and bald eagles to the large snags. It is a long
process from dead tree to woodpecker home, but I encourage you to make a
snag. And then watch the steady progression of fungi, insects, and woodpeck-
ers turn it into a real bird condominium!
Birdbaths and other water features are essential supplements for urban
birds in dry environments, but even in the temperate rainforest where I live,
they are attractive. Cover is especially important around water sources, be-
cause bathing birds are vulnerable to predators. Sometimes it's not the water,
but what's in it that birds seek. Great blue herons regularly help themselves to
the goldi sh in my neighbors' i shponds! You can protect your i sh by giving
them underwater cover.
