An Idiot's guide to Ancient Woodland management

[the village idiot]

Slight diversion, but Steve found this amazing fella inside a rotted out poplar today. We've never seen a spider quite like it in the woods before. We wondered if it might be a False Widow? Anyone out there good on their spiders?

 

 

 

 

 

[Gary Prentice]

Why's he wearing gloves 

 

 

Sorry, no idea what it is VI

[the village idiot]

2 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

Why's he wearing gloves 

 

 

Sorry, no idea what it is VI

It's my hand actually. I was picking up brash when he brought it to show me. Steve has a much better camera on his phone so I held the spider whilst he took the photos.

[Khriss]

Does look a bit Widowey. Not a expert tho'. K

[Khriss]

( it is female tho') 

[Woodsman1967]

Looks like a cupboard spider , a type of false widow . Usually found in houses , sheds and (not suprisingly) cupboards ! They can bite though not usually aggressive and bite is not particularly painful unless your unlucky enough to have an allergic reaction . Never seen one in the woods before though .

[Paul in the woods]

1 hour ago, the village idiot said:

Slight diversion, but Steve found this amazing fella inside a rotted out poplar today. We've never seen a spider quite like it in the woods before. We wondered if it might be a False Widow? Anyone out there good on their spiders?

@eggsarascal might know...

 

It looks more like a type of orb weaving cave spider, something like a Meta bourneti? I often find similar spiders in drains and other dark & damp places so a hollow tree would seem an ideal place. Any white orbs in the trunk?

 

Meta bourneti - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

[the village idiot]

1 hour ago, Paul in the woods said:

Any white orbs in the trunk?

I'll have a look tomorrow.

 

I've got our zoology wizard Juliet on the case too.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Cupboard spider is a good shout but it doesn't look quite right.

[the village idiot]

TREE JACK.

 

One of the most frustrating events in the woods is getting a tree hung up. This happens when you don't manage to get your hinge lined up properly and the tree you are felling falls into a neighbouring tree rather than onto the ground.

 

Sometimes a tree is leaning over in such a way that you really have no choice but to fell it into another tree.

 

Hung up trees are difficult, time consuming and somewhat dangerous to get down. There are various ways of tackling a hung up tree but your best option is to not let it happen in the first place. A tree jack is your best friend here. We were using ours today so I took the opportunity to take a picture.

 

 

A tree jack is simply an extending pole with a flat foot at the base and a toothed gripper at the top. It is extended using the windy handle thingy on the side. It is very useful for encouraging trees to fall in the opposite direction from the one they would naturally take. It's also good for trees that you can't quite decide which way it wants to go.

 

To use it, you lean the jack against the stem pointing in the direction you want the tree to fall. You give it a few winds until it is under tension. You then do your normal felling cuts, leaving a slightly bigger hinge than normal so the tree remains standing. You then wind the handle which extends the jack until the tree starts to go over. You then make like a tree and leave.

 

The tree jack is excellent for slight 'back leaners' or trees on the edge of a compartment that you want to make sure fall into the coup.

 

If the tree is big and heavy the foot of the jack has a tendency to sink down into the ground. You can counter this by sticking a log ring under the foot or securing a strong strap under the foot and around the base of the tree (under the gob obviously). This stops the jack from sinking or sliding backwards.

 

These tree jacks come in a variety of different sizes. The one in the picture is mid-range. They are amazingly strong but I can assure you that they can be bent if put in the hands of someone who has occasionally been known to push their luck.?

 

They can be used in conjunction with felling wedges to manipulate particularly stubborn stems.

 

I probably wouldn't use the jack on a stem I thought had a chance of barber chairing. You do have to be positioned directly behind the tree to wind the handle. Always safer to be off to the side in these scenarios.

 

Good quality tree jacks are quite expensive but incredibly useful bits of kit. If anyone fancies a free one they can come and find my original jack which the woodland claimed as it's own a couple of years back. I have a sneaky suspicion that a gang of delinquent stoats had away with it. They are crafty little devils.

[Bolt]

Stoats:

 

They Mustelidae merry dance to get away with a tree jack.