Hired for the Wrong Job

treehumper

treehumper

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
Ridgefield, NJ
This was on Yahoo this morning and I couldn't help but scratch my head over why the Post Office would hire a "tree trimmer", because a nest of birds, black-crowned night herons, was crapping on the PO trucks parked under them.

Personally, my take on this is the company was just taking on another job for the money with little regard for what the actual problem and solution was. Why wasn't a wild animal control company called in? That would've made more sense. Could the PO not leave that one spot open until the birds had fledged and moved on? A solution that had pretty much no cost to them.

We've run into nests of all sorts and if possible have postponed work to allow nature to take it's course. We've carefully relocated nests or babies were we could.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sidesho...trimmer--153917383.html?bcmt=comments-postbox

To me, we have a set of rule, regulations and laws which effect how we perform our jobs. The laws that cover wildlife are part of this and we put ourselves at risk if we choose to ignore them.
 
I've run into this before. We have a neighborhood in Norfolk that the Herons nest in every year. Those birds crap all over everything and at a volume I can't explain. No matter what homeowners do the birds come back every year. Evidently the poop poses a significant health risk and damage to property like vehicle paint. Its really bad. The streets are actually white. Pretty much every homeowner has topped all the pine trees and now it looks like preparation for a totem pole competition.
 
But they won't put up a carport or a use a car cover. Nope, lets destroy the natural environment around us because the bird crap is hazardous, unlike the crap coming out of the car's exhaust..... :confused:
 
Unfortunately some areas have building and design restrictions. The neighborhood in question has postage stamp sized yards and there really isn't anyplace to put a carport. These people actually get crapped on and need and umbrella to leave the house. Literally hundreds of birds. It has made quite a stir in the media in years past. I'm not disagreeing with you but I sure wouldn't want them in my yard. My son would never be able to go outside.
 
One solution in Norfolk might be to restore some of the birds' lost habitat. Health hazard my asp; do they not have hoses there?

I have a condo job where an old couple wanted a nice river birch whacked because of sap on cars. I drove up in my 2003 F150 and showed them how fast: 1 :28--and easy it is to put my cover on (I'm the 2nd owner; the first covered it every night). They still beyotched to the board some more but got nowhere. I'll prune it to mitigate the nuisance but that's it.

Those yayhoos in CA are lucky they're not in the UK; they'd be strung up big time there for 'going postal' on the nests.
 
The old company I worked with (my first ever season) did some horrible shiate regarding animals habitats. I shudder as I type this out.

Thankfully the company I am with now postpones work or has someone with the needing skills relocate aby animals that may get in the way of a completed job.
 
We have a job to remove a hazardous Tulip. One of the issues is a major hollow in the trunk. The dilemma is it houses a family of raccoons. By being sensitive to this and finding a viable solution differentiates us from our competitors and helps us to carve out our niche and client base. People choose us for our consideration for the environment and wildlife, not price point. Besides, as one of the trustees on the board for Hackensack Riverkeeper many people I have come to know are very much into protecting birds and other wildlife. It would not sit well with them if they knew I was whacking these critters without any concern.
 
I've got clients, with night herons who annually try to roost in a large scaffold limb on a slash pine, which extends over their pool. They called me to ask me to remove the scaffold branch because of all the bird droppings falling in the pool, not to mention dead chicks. I suggested shooing the birds to another spot in the tree. I used a throw ball to set a line on the branch, which I left for the client. They shake the branch once or twice a day, knocking the twigs out of the crotch.. within a couple weeks, the birds give up and nest in a different part of the tree. This solution has worked for birds, client and tree for three years running now.
 
Nice solution, Richard. A similar one is to jam twigs in other crotches to give them a headstart. Clients in general are becoming more accepting of this, seeing that habitat values can overrule neatness. Crown cleaning need not be crown-tidying.

Re company policy, see that of Frax's old employer's in the below (Her quote is from a treebuzz post).

Pruning & Habitat: Balancing Objectives

Can Bugs be Our Buddies?
Nora Bryan of Calgary, Alberta, is known as “The Wasp Whisperer.” As she climbs around the crowns, she listens and looks for Vespula sp. wasps that commonly nest in the trees she is paid to prune. Unlike some of her male counterparts who go out of their way to kill the creatures, they don’t bother her much. “I stay still and usually they just calm down and I keep working... slowwwwly!” she explains. “They usually find me before I see them. I have only good words to say about these wasps. Once I backed into a nest at head level. They were on my face and one was even inside my safety glasses. But I only got stung on the arm. They were pretty cool about it. I didn’t bother them any more, and they didn’t bother me. I pruned the rest of the tree, but left that limb alone.”

Nora was following her employer’s policy on protection of native animals and habitat. Adair Tree Care is committed to developing work practices that protect our environment, native wildlife and their habitat. Their policy is to avoid disturbing native wildlife and nesting areas at all times in conducting business. If a native animal is present in or near trees they have been contracted to work on, their policy is to cease work until the nesting period is over and the animal has left. They wisely recommend contacting local authorities if there is any doubt about proper handling of wildlife issues.

After the client learned why that part of the tree was not pruned, she was delighted with their commitment to “entomo-arboriculture.” She looked forward to their return, when they would check on her new “pets.” The company’s passive conservation of habitat became a value-added service. Like US agribusinesspersons getting paid for fallow fields, they were rewarded – on a smaller scale – but delivering an extra benefit! Active conservation, and even introduction of new habitat, can also be profitable, so let’s look at what’s needed to do the work.
...
Tying Material. Woven straps like Arbor-Tie can hold branches and structures in place with minimal girdling damage. That or smaller twine can lash trimmings into forks to give raptors and smaller birds a headstart on nest building. Tie loose loops to allow movement, or use cotton or other biodegradable material if future girdling is a concern.
 
I have had similar experiences with bees. Just calm the f down and they chill out. Continue to work (with a handsaw) and it's all good.

I have a 'nesting birds' question... I have a postponed removal job with house sparrows in a portion of the tree. It seems that these birds nest all summer... Does anyone know their breeding cycle so I can remove the tree when there is no risk of upsetting eggs/babies? I may just have to continue checking the nest, but that will prove time consuming and difficult at this point.

-Tom
 
From wildbirdwatching.com

The nest building is done almost year around. You are likely to notice most nest building activity in spring and fall. The main one is in spring just before breeding. Both the male and female build the nest. The nest is spherical in shape, 8 to 10 inches in outside diameter and is made of coarse material on the outside such as, straw, twigs, paper, leaves, grasses, and any other available material. The inside is lined with feathers or fine grasses. The female begins laying eggs about a week after nest building begins. Typically 4 eggs are laid but some nest can have up to 7 eggs. The eggs are white to dull brown and speckled with brown. For the most part, incubation of the eggs is done by the female. Incubation last for about 12 days and the young leave the nest in 15 to 17 days after hatching. Both the male and female feed the young. After the young birds have fledged, the male continues feeding the fledglings while the female begins the next brood. - See more at: http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/House_Sparrows.html#sthash.Ev1nMp1q.dpuf

They can have upwards of 4 broods in a year. Once the chicks have fledged then relocate the nest to a birdhouse to, hopefully, encourage them to continue nesting in there instead.
 
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