I live in a small town near Cardiff, Penarth, and the Vale of Glamorgan's policy of extreme pollarding of large trees has taken away the natural habitat of birds. The whole of a long through-road, Wordsworth Avenue, and most side roads from it, as well as many other roads in Penarth have fallen victim to this sheer vandalism. While standing at a bus stop in Wordsworth Avenue, one used to be surrounded by bird song, and now it is just dead. It's criminal!
Elisabeth, Without seeing the trees and knowing what type they are I would say that pollarding is actually very beneficial to birds as it creates holes for nesting and areas for feeding when it shoots. I suppose it is all down to what type of tree and how often they repeat the pollarding and allow regrowth.
The Cotswold Water park sightings website
My Flicker page
Pollarding extends the life of a tree. The tree will live longer and produce new growth. Hazel is coppiced almost to ground level but this good for the tree and the wildlife.
Trees with extensive ivy cause the tree to fall in high winds, it acts like a sail.
Hi Ness, everybody is replying rather positively about pollarding, and I know the trees recover eventually, but when you see such a large area pollarded at the same time, it looks like a moon scape, or a scene after a nuclear war! My friend, who lives in one of the side roads, had her trees pollarded twice last year. I can't see this as beneficial, can you? Maybe a photograph would help to show everybody.
Hi not wanting to upset, but please dont forget, pollording still goe's on as a bussiness, willow, hazel, and others keep a lot of people in work and i dont think these activities affect out birds, infacy i knew of one case where a duck was nesting in one of the trees been croped, when the person cropping realised, they left that tree but did the rest, the duck reared 7 ducklings. Alan
i say always look on the bright side of life, as you cannot see anything on the other ?
Another aspect of pollarding is the health and safety issue. No council wants a liabilty claim for those injured by fallen branches.
At the moment our Local Nature Reserve is having its yearly tree inspection. Any tree overhanging the public pathways is cut back if it presents a danger to the public. This includes any rotten or dead branches which is a shame because it deprives woodpeckers of a food sourse and maybe nesting sites.
Last year we lost a Hawthorn simply because it got in the way of an angler so he cut it down.Never found out who did it.
You may wish to discuss this with the Tree Advice Trust
If there are any trees in the area that warrant particular concern due to their stature or ammenity value then consider putting them forward for Tree Preservation Orders.
The suggestion of staggering the pollarding to create a variety of habitats for wild birds is certainly a good one and it would be well worth writing to the appropriate council to suggest such an idea.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.