Nesting Season: What Tree Work Can Still Go Ahead

Every March we get calls that open with an apology: I suppose you cannot do anything until the autumn? Usually we can.

What still goes ahead

• Most tree surgery. Crown reductions, thinning, deadwood removal and dismantles, once the tree has been checked and is clear.
• Anything dangerous. Storm damage, hung-up limbs and unstable trees are dealt with whenever they arise.
• Stump grinding. No nesting implications at all.
• Planting, fencing and landscaping. Spring is the right season for most of it.

What waits

• Hedge cutting. Hedges are prime nesting habitat and cutting effectively stops until September.
• Heavy work in dense evergreen. Leylandii and thick conifer hide nests well, so we are cautious.
• Site clearance without a pre-works ecological check, particularly scrub, which is exactly what birds want.

What we do before starting

Every job gets a nesting check before the saw starts. If we find an active nest we stop, tell you, and come back once the birds have fledged, usually by late summer. On larger or ecologically sensitive sites we work alongside your ecologist and record it properly, which is what planning conditions and landowner assents require.

If you are planning work for later in the year, getting a quote in spring costs nothing and holds your place in a diary that fills fast in September.