Creating and maintaining deadwood habitat

[toprotter]

Now it should give it away:thumbup:

 

 

Anyone seen any 'otters'

[David Humphries]

That looks pretty good, is it to a specific design or build it and see?

 

Don't know anything about otters, but would have thought they prefer underground, so what you've constructed with a mound of soil on top may be better?

 

 

 

 

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[josharb87]

damn, i knew the answer too! when felling for the rspb, we felled bankside willows, and with the brash had to make otter holts, although we also used terracotta drain pipes dug into the bank at an angle into the water, straight up into the holt, then used chicken wire staked into the ground, over the brash to keep it all down and tight, then covered the whole lot with turf to help keep it cool inside, and eliminate any light penetrating

[toprotter]

Built to spec and on the bend of the river to hopefully entice the otters to the entrance as they took a short cut across. No earth though !

 

Planted around it for ground cover and let nature take its course.

 

It had a I suppose a 'hallway' and a back room were they would hopefully breed

and enable the parent to fend of any intruders tooth and nail.

No otters where in the local vicinity but getting closer, so this was put up to hopefully house a young pair of breeders down stream from 'parents' as the young always move to new territory.

 

No sign yet 4 1/2 yrs later but a few road kills have been found locally in that time so you never know.

 

So I guess it is a super bug complex:thumbup1:

[Sam Thompson]

Suprised the Mink arent using it, they seem to inhabit everything round here

 

Oh and it looks rather brilliant if you ask me.

 

 

Sam

[David Humphries]

Again, not creation but maintenance.

 

........or is it fly tipping?

 

 

This lump of Chestnut was felled & left in situe for the last 5 years as a bench in this park.

 

Now at the stage of disintergration, it was time for a delicate lift & re-siting.

 

Loads of lesser stags.

 

 

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[andrew t]

The popular habitat was nice i liked the way the new shoots provided some protection have you got any pics of bat habitats.

[monkeypuzzle22]

Hi Monkeyd,

 

Did you think of attaching the decaying stem to another tree in the upright position?preferably a monolith to encourage an expansion of the habitat?

 

Just a thought...btw thought the first few pics were excellent examples of small habitat creation in stumps. I have attempted a few in the past and have never seen re-growth work to that affect i.e. securing the top ring. Very impressive....

[cousin jack]

Great thread this, given me loads of ideas, I've just got another 70 acres to play with, and the owner will be up for this sort of thing

[David Humphries]

Hi Monkeyd,

 

Did you think of attaching the decaying stem to another tree in the upright position?preferably a monolith to encourage an expansion of the habitat?

 

Just a thought...btw thought the first few pics were excellent examples of small habitat creation in stumps. I have attempted a few in the past and have never seen re-growth work to that affect i.e. securing the top ring. Very impressive....

 

 

Hi Monkeypuzzle,

 

I've seen this done at highstanding at Windsor by Ted Green.

 

What we are attempting to do, is create a good stock of various species of standing dead trees sdt's, rather than resurecting.

That way the natural progression of colonisation is complete and not stop start.

 

Not sure if this particularly important, but worth considering in managing habitat.

 

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