Cockatoo damaged limbs

Eric Frei

Cockatoos like to chew off the bark on the tops of branches ... the collar.

In this example there's a "3 way" crotch. It's cockatoo ravaged.

I can never see the cambium growing back so what do you think the long term prognosis is for this union?

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newguy18

okay this might sound really stupid but maybe a thin grade of sheet metal like roof flashing held down with small nails cut to fit the gap but not going over the cambium.In theory it should callus over the edges of the meatal and hopefully seal.Maybe in time completely close up.

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old schooler

Eric Frei

I'm more worried about it from the angle of decay and no further supportive tension wood growth on the upper side to hold the limb up.

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newguy18

Maybe head the 3 leaders back to nodes,cable all 3 toghter and thin the canopy to lighten the load.I'd even go as far as to install bolts through the base of the unions.

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treeseer

why won't the bark grow back over?

Eric Frei

Just doesn't, either the cockies come back and keep chewing it or they have taken too large a section like ring barking.

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TrevMcRev

Yep they do some nasty damage. Will have pics next week of a real bad union, also 3 way, with damage.

Tree had already had a failure at another cocky damaged union.

Eric Frei

If you have a failure pic Trev I'D LOVE IT THANKS.

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treestyle

doesn't look like any target area shown in photo? with out aerial inspection can't really determine the extent of damage.

i reckon if there is no target area then leave the tree as is and give the cockies what they want. install nesting boxes or hollow logs in the 3 way fork, encourage them to chew on something else upon returning or have habitat ready for them to move into?

worst cases scenario, if you can talk client in to it, annual inspections of damage. i couldn't imagine limb failure caused by that damage for atleast a couply years if not more.

i know that human safety is a priority, however trees and birds have been this sort of thing for a long time, and we should let them continue this behaviour as much as we can.

Eric Frei

Development site mate, they're going to build very close to it or under it.

Buildings to last say 50 years+, what about the tree?

Cant cut off the two branches, that's like half the tree. Can reduce and thin etc but what is the long term prognosis?

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newguy18

how sound is the wood?If its getting rotten or soft i'd just remove it and get it over with.

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treestyle

long term, could be managed with lots of money! but is that likely or realistic?

MTS247

Unsuitable for retention due to damage.

Would you retain it if the union was bifurcated with included bark? ie identified fault.

If they are building close to it they will stuff the root system anyway.

They are probably looking for an excuse to remove it anyway

If the limbs are not to big you could "cobra cable" it. not hold the tree together but as a back up if the tree fails.

Eric Frei

Climbed up this tree yesterday to check it out. That's the advantage of getting a REAL ARBORIST not some pen pusher to assess your trees!

Was a lot worse than it looked and found lots of it up there plus a kino weeping co-dominant.





This one had a nice deep hole could put my hand in, nothing bit me!



And here's the union I was talking about.

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treeseer

Covering the wound--with a bird house?--and cabling seems like an option. The bark will grow over it in time if it is protected.

Nice pics. Owner/builder could make a case for removal but they always do.

newguy18

Its within the realm of saving but if they're gonna tear up the roots badly,i'd suggest removal.

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treeseer

So just spec 12" of stingy mulch over the roots, and clean cutting where they must be cut. Simple.

newguy18

i know one of our goals is to take care of and preserve trees,espicaly signifacant trees,but if they're gonna build a house under it and it has rot plus a good chance that 1/4 to 1/2 the root ssytem will be severly damaged,i'm sorry but in my book that is an unexceptable risk.As always though its the clients call and in most cases when they here about the risk it seems to scare them,in my case anyways.

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treeseer

this sounds like a wild guess. humans are in charge of this; it can be limited. Is there an arbo on the development team, or is he only on the margin to render a single opinion, in and out, that is the question.

Drouin Tree Service

Just a bit too much damage IMO.They certainly make there mark,one street here they get into every year moving down it making a mess and having a great time!!!

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Eric Frei

I have heard a few viable stories.

That cockatoos want the limb to fall of to commence a hole for nesting.

They use them as markers for navigation.

They tear up the bark looking for bugs and grubs.

As they seem to always favour the branch union it could be that there's an increased amount of sugars there.

And finally, they just do it coz their bored and chew stuff anyway. However as you can see by this tree their very specific about where they do it so I go with a combi and the nesting option.

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Sean Freeman

They certainly are destructive delinquents! have seen relatively little tree damage like that in the photos in this thread but have seen them decimate palms and shrubs for no apparent reason other than they felt like it, I quess if you have a beak like that why wouldn't you enjoy snipping things off....I have know blokes in the bucket (and harness) do the same with the chainsaw!!

As for the prognosis for that tree in the thread well as Guy has said there's much that can be controlled if the owners are willing and want the tree kept, can't see construction (unless on top of the stump!) being the single most important factor....if they want the tree.

The damage to the unions we can see...well I do think down the track 10-20yrs or more there is a very good chance of limb failure under wind loading, numerous options again...root crown examination..intensive soil and root treatments, reduce the sail area and weight, whilst retaining sufficient foliage for health of the limb, dynamic cabling...of the effected limbs (thats the most elongated ones in the pic..although doubtless the situation actually on site is different to that which we see in the pics)

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quercus

An annual inspection and proper tree saving program is needed here. I'd also suggest bracing. A lot is depending on how the HO sees this. I'm guessin' they want it gone? No?

Is there no way to install something in those unions so them birds won't eat the bark anymore? What about pieces of rubber with nails through them, taped to the branches just next to the wound, so they can't sit in or near the unions anymore and hopefully the tree itself can overgrow it's wound and therefore become a solution to the problem. If the can't reach the unions any more, they can't eat the bark off of them.

treeseer

That's the whole story, right there. I pictured the birdhouse set over that fork so the water runs away from the wound. Cockatoos were prominent in a picture here, and part of the story.

o dam the pic is not in there; i'll hunt it up it's good.

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Dendro 5 Lianas.pdf (138.4 KB, 38 views)

Sean Freeman

Thats quite a bit of lateral thinking Q...nice one, it would be greatif the tree was able to effectively occlude the injury, perhaps it could with enough assistance through treatment of the soil and roots.

quercus

I haven't got that much experience with these trees and therefore it's difficult for me to say how they wil react to this kind of damage... But I thought this would be a good and fairly cheap idea...The piece of rubber I was referring to is actually firestone pond liner. It can expand to 3 times the original size without tearing apart and therefore it will grow along with the branch's thickness in time without interfering with it. In a perfect world we would have tape with these qualities too, but I don't know if something like that is available.

Eric Frei

Those bastids even chew the insulation off wires, they obviously liked that tree, probably the openness.

Thing is the tree is 0.75m DBH and 28m tall, in that environemnt I dont see too much growth going on. There's not a lot of new growth on it considering the rains we've had. I'd say that tree has "peaked" as far as a balance of size and health go. So I dont hold much hope for growth over those wounds ... sure getting a better soil going will help but knowing large eucs they'll rather grow than fix that.

I have been watching another one equally as large here in Springwood with same damage. That one I have watched maybe 8 years now. Bugger me the sulpher crested cockatoos come back evey year to the same spot and chew more. I watch them but sorry no pics. They hang in flocks to so a they work a few unions over at the same time ... some sort of tree chewing party!

Anyway, on this other tree they've given the largest limb that sticks out near sideways a real decent hammering, as there's no targets I keep waiting to see when it breaks ... but it hasn't yet. The tree is fully exposed like this one, the cockatoos like that.

I think wire mesh over it would be best, bastids wont like chewing wire and gives the sun a chance to dry that wood out. With eucs I feel dark and damp is the enemy.

Yes the subject tree can be saved or dozed, I can be employed in either capacity.

If anyone has other pics lets see them, an action shot of the buggers doing it would be ideal.

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StrictlyPalms

From www.ecuproducts.com
"Budgerigars and Their Affinity with Certain Eucalyptus Species.
by Peter McLaren B.A.

Many bird species in Australia and elsewhere feed on the cambium sap of various trees. In northern European and American forests woodpeckers feed on the cambium sap of a number of deciduous tree species. This, however, tends to be seasonal behavior as opposed to birds that feed on evergreens - such as the eucalypts- in which cambial activity is continuous.

In Australia galahs, sulfur-crested cockatoos and Major Mitchell Cockatoos all strip the mature bark of eucalypts to gain access to the cambium tissue and thus the cambium's phloem sap. The writer has observed some cockatoos returning regularly to wounds they have created in the cambium of eucalyptus trees to take advantage of the continually weeping sap that exudes from them for up to a fortnight before the tree heals."

Seems they like the sap Ekka, Looking up the bite force of a parrot's beak to see if it can shear through chickenwire or if you will need something stronger. The cockatoos in my families' pet shop could break the welds on some of the cages we put them in, those beaks are nasty.

The only thing i could find is approx 200lbs per square inch at the tip. I'm thinking heavier than chicken wire. Although blocking one area may encourage chewing in another.

Edit: I looked but didn't find any "Eucalyptus Sap" or juice etc... for sale on the internet... Although there are many articles talking about how sugar gliders and pet cockatoos need/want the sap for nutrition. Someone out there must sell a product that could be put in a bird feeder that may give the cockatoos what they're looking for without having to tear up the tree. It might be worth a try to see if parrots would go to the bowl instead of chewing.

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Eric Frei

Actually that Troppo from Coffs Harbour was after Blue Gum leaves for his parrots.

Eucalyptus globulus, Tasmanian Blue Gum branches & leaves wanted

But the old euc oil in a bottle besides making your eyes water will remove chewing gum from the shoe soles!

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TrevMcRev

A story on the news last night about this.

But worse.

In Upwey, in the dandenong ranges they are under attack! Plague of them chewing everything- and not just trees.

They are tearing apart peoples houses, chewing weatherboards, timber window frames, balconies, decking etc!

They want a cull in the area.

So maybe not just about sap, they just like to tear stuff up

Ps. i got some cocky damage pics but havent figured out reducing size on the mac yet....