bats-n-trees

Should of said in the instance shown secure straps to bucket and boom as track has gone off inside the front roller .Must look harder before typing !!!

Happened to most of us at some stage.I have used a couple of ratchet straps before now to pull the track back over the top of the front roller and the slowly driven the track forward back into position.Sometimes you may have to let the grease out of the tensioner ram. I put one strap across the top of the tracks hooked over outer edge of the track plates and another one hooked into the first one but secured up the boom somewhere to lift the track chain up. when you're on your own in the middle of nowhere necessity is the mother of invention. Some machines (Takeuchi 8 tonners being one example) rely on the high speed tracking to keep the track tension as set.If you have a slight oil leak past the piston seal then track tension will drop and any violent spragging or reversing on side land ground will see the track off in no time. So I Usually pop each track up in the air with the bucket and run the track in high speed for a short while.You can also check correct tension (SEE HANDBOOK !!!! or RTFM !!!) at this point.NOT when it is running obviously. Dozers and crawlers need other techniques but that is another story. Hope this helps someone when they are in the sh (sorry mud ).

If as you say it is going "cheep" then surely you cannot disturb it for a while ???

To the Glos and Worcs boys on here Tewkesbury Saw company used to keep a good range of turning tools,chucks lathes etc. They would probably help you with a joinery shop to thickness you planks too.If you still struggle come back to me and I will make some enquiries,

thought you would be lurking somewhere ! That's one of Weston,s cider orchards in the background.I nearly had to call the Sally army !!!

Pollards are not a four letter word.A good many of our veteran trees were pollarded in their early life.I can show you some old pollards.I will be surprised if you can show me the same species still standing erect if left untouched by man. My first pic is of some black poplar pollards that are very old.They are on Castlemorten common near Malvern.Non of their untouched brethren have survived. These trees are an impressive site when in leaf and provide valuable habitat for many many species. The other pics are of some willows I re-pollarded last spring.Many of the stems were overhanging the neighbour's orchard to which we were denied access and had to be winched back with the tirfor using the dumper as an anchor point. Good for the bowels when you are stood on top of an old pollard with a chainsaw in you hand. Last pic shows two big willows at another customers which are right on the edge of a stream and are in danger of falling onto the sewage plant.Ideal to be pollarded. The ducks love willow pollards to nest in !!

Hi I have a client who has about 5 acres of deciduous woodland including overstood hazel stools and other species which he wants some one to coppice now. Anyone want more details email me on edwardsecology@googlemail .com and I will come back to you. Thanks.

Actually you will do well to find a single (as in one occupant ) bat roost in a tree.They are usually either stumbled across as a result of some work programme or as a result of dedicated observation of a known wood/row of trees etc During the breeding season some males will set up a harem roost and will alter their echolocation calls and flight behavior to attract suitable females. The bat equivalent of come up and see my etchings !!

Or........... maybe you have just shown that pigs can actually fly !!!!!!!

Hi Odd_bird. Is your avatar a pig-geon ???? Actually male bats regularly roost alone. Can't stand all that noise presumably.(or is that a sexist remark I have to withdraw ?!!) And the fine/sentence is not just for killing bats,destroying a known roost can have similar consequences.

All postings that bring out opinions/actions/experiences/tall tales/heresay should be welcomed.It gives us all a better understanding of the situation .It will be a very sad day when the prosecution service start browsing Arbtalk for possible malpractice. Currently the maximum fine is £5000 per bat and or a 6 mths prison sentence as I understand it. I would like to build up a file of actual cases where ordinary Arbs have been prosecuted for bat related matters.All info gratefully received. Most EPS (European Protective Species ) prosecutions have been related to development sites where big profits or costs have been a factor.If there is £500,000 profit to be made then a £20,000 fine is not much of a penalty.Hence the introduction of the prison element.Directors don't like the thought of 6 months per bat or newt etc. Talking to Arbs there seems to be a divergence of opinion on how to apply the rules on looking for bats as part of the day -to-day work.It would be interesting to hear a few opinions on this. Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks Lorry. Where was the course and who was you tutor as a matter of interest ?

I,m bowled over by the responses already.And I thought I'd be on a sticky wicket.Never fear I am determined to bat on.Hope we don't need an umpire with all this?? Or is that what the moderator does on forums ?!! ( I have left a few more for later if needed )

Take it from me that saw was luxury with the moving trough for the logs. When I was a kid on the farm we a a huge table saw with the 36" blade. No guards,no riving knife and driven by a flat belt off the pulley on the side of the old Fordson Major. When the blade got up to speed it would give out a malevolent whistle.Two of us used to roll logs up a couple of long stakes onto the table and then proceed to push them onto - and past the blade.Imagine twisted old oak branches and you get the idea.Very often the timber would rotate slightly and bind the blade. Clouds of smoke would billow forth and we would struggle to get the log back off the blade. Occasionally the blade would get so hot it would buckle to such a degree it would cut clean through the timber surround (forgotten the technical name !) and start attacking the cast iron bed.Time to retreat and lower the revs a bit rapid, and empty the watering can over the spinning blade !!! In real emergencies we used to use a handily placed hedge stake to run the belt off the pulley !! Familiarity breeds contempt and more than once I got a round log in the midriff from being too impatient starting a new cut, as per the advice in the video.Severely winded several times. Pointing stakes was another dangerous job because the bits coming off would often vibrate across the table and land on the rapidly moving belting.Nothing like a nine inch long pointy bit whistling past your ear to speed up response times. We used to use waste oil to lubricate the bed and the blade.-none of this modern silicon stuff back then !! Ah Happy days............. The older I get- the better I was !!

It is gratifying to see the high level of interest in the bat related threads.A large number of hits and people expressing an interest in knowing more about bats,and bats and trees; the relationship. I have attempted to answer some of the questions to date.But I feel it would be much better if I give you source details of some excellent material already published,so here are some. They are ideal to browse through for something of interest.There are books available of course,but not many cover the same ground . I am on this forum because I love trees,the associated wildlife,flora and fauna,and not least the equipment.I find it an invaluable resource tool and often makes me chuckle.I think the healthy debates that go on are extremely useful because often it enlightens us(the browsers) into some else's thinking and experiences, and business ethos. I wold be extremely grateful for any bat related info/stories so that we can increase our knowledge base for future generations.I know accidents with wildlife and other stuff goes on but I am not a Zealot.I think any information could prove beneficial. Because at this time I feel we still have a great deal to learn about bats and trees. Thank you for reading this. Don't worry there are no stupid questions,only stupid answers. And I am good at those !! habitat_management_for_bats52 pages.pdf WoodlandManagementForBats_web.pdf giving-bats-a-good-innings.pdf ENRR_661 english nature bat report.pdf

Happiness comes from within,not from without .

Must confess even tho' I looked at the original date - 2008 ! Just couldn't resist having a stab at it. Hope there won't be any pun-i-tive consequences. !! So sharp you see !!! No blunt replies thanks !!!!

Just a warning to you all : definition young man:broad mind, narrow waist. Middle aged man: narrow mind ,broad waist . and finally, Opinions are like a---holes. Everybody has one. Me included !!!

In the beginning there was ????

Thanks for that. wish I had more time to devote to the forum and bat research. We know so little really. Bats are the largest mammal species on earth.-over 1200 at last count. Wingspans up to 2 metres. Wouldn't want to be in the firing line when one that big flushes the toilet !!! On the question of your house and bat improvements can you bring some pics next week to Moccas and I will try to advise. Off to the fungi forum now !! cheers.

any chance you latin scholars can provide a translation alongside. Or are we not all equal ?? I.ve never been a latin lover !!

surely that would be a tall story ???

I trust it wasn't stihl beating !

Dear Hama I can fully understand why much of the time you must feel like you are the sole voice in the wilderness ,trying to change the ways of the masses.In a way there may be an element of truth in it. But what you must realize is that in your posts against what you perceive as the uncaring mob, and their responses, an industry is being educated. Statisitically not many of the 1200 members of this forum are active posters. But if you look at the number of times posts are read you must quickly realize what a very valuable resource you all are in educating the industry. No one comes on this forum because they have been instructed to.No, we are hear to learn about the industry ,and add to our individual knowledge base, and from time to to have a chuckle along the way.In many of our eyes you are a leading light in that process. We all have times of doubt ,when we wonder why we carry on. I am sure I speak for thousands of forum members when I say we need you to continue to bring things before our eyes. Maybe it is time the forum members put a collective hand in pockets to fund research projects by those forum posters we collectively think worthy....... How about a poll on that folks ??

And I thought I was just a blubbering idiot !!