Q: We have a dead palm that we would like to remove; however, we are worried that it contains nests and perhaps young birds. Can you please advise as to what the season is in southern Florida for rearing young? An answer would be greatly appreciated, as we are planning on removing the trees for safety reasons. Thanks and kind regards.
A: What a fabulous question. I'm sure many other people have wondered about this, too.
In general, late summer and early fall are probably good times to remove your southern Florida tree, as young birds will have fledged, and migrants haven't arrived yet for the winter. I have seen nests with eggs and young in southern Florida as late as July -- which surprised me -- so make sure it's much later than this.
In fact, take a good look in your tree before removing it, no matter what. Because it's a palm, this shouldn't be too much trouble for you. You can remove some fronds, take a look, remove some more fronds, look some more, etc. just to make doubly sure that no one is nesting in the tree (if it has fronds left at all).
You mentioned that safety is the reason you want to remove the tree. If you are concerned that the tree may fall and hurt someone or damage something, then by all means, remove it. An arborist is able to tell you if the tree is a potential danger. But if the tree is far enough away from areas where people regularly are or where you, say, park your car, then you may consider leaving the dead palm.
Dead trees, also called snags, may not look fabulous in your backyard landscape, but they are wonderful for wildlife. Many people caught up in the backyard habitat movement leave dead trees in their yards, only to find that woodpeckers, squirrels and other creatures take up residence in them or use the snags for lookouts. Even fallen trees or logs continue to provide much-needed habitat to wildlife, which is especially important in urbanized southern Florida.
Migratory birds begin to arrive as early as late August in northern Florida, so in the other parts of the state, keep this in mind when removing and trimming trees.
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