I live in a quiet rural road. My garden measures 40' by 100', was very secluded with many trees in and surrounding it. Most of the trees in my neighbours garden were slow growing conifers which were at least 50 years old with one magnificent metasequioa which I estimate to be about 30 years old. I now have a new neighbour. He moved in 5 months ago. SEVEN DAYS AGO HE HAD, TO MY DISMAY, EVERY TREE CUT DOWN. I know that what people do with their gardens is their business but is their anything that can be done about this from an ecologocal point of view?
Their were several nests in the trees. The collared doves came back one day and have now gone. Last winter I had flocks of chaffinches. blue tits, gold finches, long tailed tits and several more which used the sequioa to perch in before coming down for food.. These have now diappeared. Can my neighbour be made to replace the trees? I think I know the answer to the last question. Any advice or comments will be gratefully received.
grrrr why is it people move to rural places and then decide they dont like trees?
i would suggest a call to your local council arboricultural offiicer to have a discussion - its illegal to disturb nesting birds and he would know if any of the trees had tpo's in place
good luck
Izzy
Hi Firedragon
Welcome to the RSPB forum :-)
Sadly the answer to your question is that your neighbour can't be made to replace the trees.
If the trees weren't protected when he moved into the property, then he can do what he likes with them when they become his.
Of course, you could plant some on your side of the fence if you wish.
Best wishes Chris
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Hi
This is a terrible shame, the loss of natural features from gardens does cause prolems for garden birds. Very shoddy of them not to at least let you know of the work going on. However there are a couple of things you need to be particularly aware of.
It is an offence to intentionally damage or destroy an active nest of a wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. For more information about birds and the law please see here. If this occurred it needs to be reported to the police as it is a criminal offence. If the nests were not active when the cutting was taking place and garden birds were only disturbed from the trees where they were perching, roosting or feeding, this would not be illegal.
Tree Preservation Orders can be requested for any trees thought to serve a public amenity. If you have concerns about new neighbours moving in or developments near trees that are particularly special, it is best to be pro-active and get in touch with the councils tree officer so that incidents like this don't happen. I know this will be of little comfort now but it is worth noting for the future. If they did fell a tree with a TPO on then the council may have some powers to act, worth following up i think.
Obviously things have not got off to a good start with your neighbour but maybe you can compensate to some degree by planting some extra cover this autumn, have a look here at some possible options. It might also be worth trying to start a dialogue with your neighbour about some degree of replanting on their side.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
I feel for you I really do. My neighbours chopped down a beautiful old willow tree earlier in the year and I still grieve its passing. To lose so many wildlife supporting trees must be really heartbreaking.
There are a number of old Ash trees down the road from me covered by Tree Protection Orders and a builder has applied for them to be felled in order to build houses. As the local council have given planning permission for the housing development I feel sure it is only a matter of time before I hear the sickening sound of chainsaws again.
All this is one of the reasons wildlife is in decline - destruction of habitat - bit by bit.
Love CJ
Thankyou Izzy. I will check with the coucil as soon as poss.
Firedragon
Izzy said: grrrr why is it people move to rural places and then decide they dont like trees? i would suggest a call to your local council arboricultural offiicer to have a discussion - its illegal to disturb nesting birds and he would know if any of the trees had tpo's in place good luck Izzy
Thanks to you all who have replied. It has given me food for thought. Unfortuately since the trees were felled a week ago I have hardly seen a bird in the garden. Even the wood pigeons have gone.
As for replanting I have to choose plants that are resistant to honey fungus which is rife from the roots of elms which died. I have tried plants and shrubs to attract butterflies and bees but they dont last long. Budlea bushes only live about 5 years. So the loss of mature trees is devastating.