Heartache....dead small dogwood's cut down to stumps! ;-(

I'm almost in tears. Tree cutters came around my neighborhood this afternoon.
Great, I thought to myself, I can get the limbs over the main electric connection to my home removed (at a price I can afford). Well, my neighbor took advantage of it also. Except she only had 3 dead dogwoods (less than 20' tall) in her back yard worked on. When the men finished with the branches and got to within a foot from the trunk, I thought to myself, "What a nice place for woodpeckers and bluebirds to nest". That idea was quickly squelched as the saws continued , until foot by foot, that wonderful potential home-site was reduced to a 5' stump, tall enough to still have to mow and weed eat around and to short now for any good nesting.
All summer, the Bluebirds that had nested two broods in my yard this year, used that tree to train their fledges hunting techniques. The neighbor even told me how she loved to watch the Bluebirds and that she noticed how they spent a lot of time in the biggest of the dead trees. I explained the whole process to her, including how the birds scoped out the dead trees and got lots of food from insects and then nested in them. I still can't believe she had them butchered like that.
Many would think me nuts to be sad at seeing a couple of dead trees taken down. I know you all will understand my feelings.
If only the world did!.........

I know how you feel. A neighbor in back of me had 3 enormously tall healthy Cotton trees taken down this summer. The Red-tailed Hawks and Crows used to love those.

When I lived in Fort Polk, Louisiana, the Army had us kill trees in designated areas for the Pileated Woodpecker. Great training for the "tankers" and wonderful for reestablishing habitat. It taught us all of the importance of deadwood.

I think this tree already had some resident nuthatches. It makes me so sad. I would love to have a dead dogwood in my backyard. And why the need to take the "snag"? It would have left a nice 15' or so home site. Grrrr............

Makes you sick.

My elderly neighbor behind me heats with wood only. One day last week he asked me how I felt about the little woods across from house. I told him...in no uncertain term... that if I have my way it will stay the way it is for the birds and the deer and other wildlife. He said "oh, okay...I was talking to the Property Managers about clearing some trees off it for fire wood. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE tried to buy it last year but got nowhere.

People don't get it that dead wood does serve a pupose.

I got this shot of a Tufted Titmouse going into it's nesting cavity the other day. You can just see his booty!

I've a large deadwood, and it's where I often see my first-timers. I'd cry if it came down.

My daughters neighbor cut an old deadwood on a vacant lot next to her place. She's not seen an Acorn Woodpecker since. ;-(

I have plenty of dead trees in my yard. Only two came close to smashing my roof, they had to go, but I checked for nests etc first. Here is some of the many I have left........See the group in the middle

Yes I cried when the back property leveled their yard :(
Another area in the back

This one is sooo dead... it randomly drops large pieces!

And one of many brush piles I have going! It is very important to keep these wild areas for our outdoor friends! GM

Don't you often find it puzzling, that there are those of us crazy about plants &
critters, & those (like some of my neighbors) that would rather concrete every-
thing over for their monster garages & trucks? One guy has taken over 90% of
his backyard for TWO monster garages, & about 80% of the front yard for the
driveway. Yet on that 20% in the front, he has a lawn company (chemicals &
all) to keep it lovely & green, & a biological Dead Zone. Go figure.

LOL!! Ain't it the truth...we have a neighbor down the road who you NEVER see outside enjoying their yard. They pay for a lawn service to green it up though. AND they mow it down to the dirt to boot!

I'm just glad to know there are people here that understand even a dead tree has great qualities about it. I sometimes feel the birds that I feed and try to protect are my own family members and I worry when I don't see one particular one for a couple days.

DH and I were talking yesterday about how we used to see just dead trees, and now we see habitat.