As an eyesore, that gnarled, leafless tree in your backyard might not merit a second look, but for the avian community, it's a sculptural masterpiece. Dead trees—often referred to as tree snags—are a more valuable resource for wildlife than countless living trees. Woodpeckers, owls, and bluebirds are just a few of the species that are snags' tenants. Before you take out your chainsaw, just consider why the more thoughtful birders are choosing to let these natural wonders stand.
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Snags are dead, standing trees that are crucial for some birds that need to nest in cavities. They are great for woodpeckers, owls, and bluebird as they provide places to nest, hunt, and perch, which are close to your home. Snags offer great hunting positions and softer wood in which to excavate their nests, plus, as the wood decays, it becomes home to tons of insects which are great food sources.
The plain truth is that natural cavities are becoming more and more rare in our highly manicured environments. Modern forestry practices remove dead wood, development clears old growth trees, and well meaning homeowners clean up their yards. This leaves cavity-nesting birds—approximately 30% of North American bird species—searching for places to live.
Snags meet this critical need. One dead tree can host several bird families for many seasons. Each year, woodpeckers carve out new holes, so last year's nest hole is available for chickadees, nuthatches, or flying squirrels to use. That old oak or pine tree is an […] apartment building, spring to winter hosting a turnover of wildlife tenants.
The worth goes past housing. Snags act as hunting perches for flycatchers and kestrels, and they serve as drumming posts for woodpeckers who are establishing a territory, and lookout posts where birds can survey their domain while being safe from predators. Even bare branches become stages for courtship displays, as well as song posts where males proclaim their presence to potential mates.
Nesting and Food: A Snag's Big Draws for Backyard Birds
Dead trees are home to primary excavator birds like woodpeckers and secondary nesting birds like kestrels and wood ducks. They are also home to lots of insects which many birds like nuthatches and creepers go for. This kind of interaction creates a great variety of life in small areas.
Making new holes every year are the primary cavity nesters. Fresh holes are created by Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, and Flickers. Thanks to their strong skulls and specialized beaks, they soften wood with ease. After chiseling the hole and moving out, secondary nesters move in. Secondary nesters include Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Tufted Titmice, and Great Crested Flycatchers, who have strong nesting cavity needs but are also non-excavating.
Bigger cavities attract bigger inhabitants. Snags and mature trees need to have large holes in order for screech owl, barred owl, wood duck and American kestrel populations to be able to reproduce in your area. Without natural cavities, these species cannot reproduce in your area.
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In addition to housing, dead and dying trees attract insects. Wood-boring beetles and carpenter ants, termites, and other invertebrates move in to break down the wood. With the insects come the birds. The brown creepers go up and down the trunks and the nuthatches go down head first. Woodpeckers go into the heartwood to get the larvae with their barbed tongues.
The US forest service claims that a single snag can be home to over 1,000 species of insects in the course of its multi-decade long decomposition cycle. This provides year around protein for the local birds and more food for the migrants that pass in spring and fall. Even in the winter, when other food sources are scarce, dormant insects in the wood of the snag are still food for the birds.
Additional Ecosystem Benefits of Leaving Snags Beyond Birds
Snags foster healthy ecosystems by recruiting and sheltering insects which attract birds, and retaining moisture for the germination of new plants. They also enrich soil, host fungi, and prevent erosion. They benefit everything from pollinators to the entire carbon cycle. And the benefits extend well beyond the birds that visit.
As snags gradually break down, they transform into nurseries for visible shelf-type mushrooms and also for other microscopic fungi. These fungi help in the decomposition of tough lignin and cellulose that are abundant in the dead trees, and also in the process of recycling nutrients back into the soil. When the snag falls over and topples, it becomes a nurse log that enriches the soil with moisture and nutrients and also shelter for seedlings, ferns, and wildflowers. This process, along with the decomposition of rotting vegetation, helps in enriching your soil without the addition of any fertilizers.
Standing snags can support many different types of species and wildlife, many of which we may not notice. Bats tend to roost under the bark of snags. Some native bees will nest in areas where beetles used to live. Some cavity-nesting ducks raise their young in snags that are 30 feet off the ground. Small mammals and salamanders are known to settle in the decaying root systems of snags. Snags were found to support three times the number of different species than living trees of the same size.
While dead trees release carbon over time as they decompose, standing snags will store carbon for a much longer period of time compared to trees that are cut and removed. Snags will even capture and store rainwater as well as reducing surface runoff and preventing soil erosion. This is especially important for soil that is located on steep slopes or near stream channels.
Ways to Safely Add Snags to Your Yard Today
If you’re an older homeowner, you can take practical steps to attract more red cardinals, hummingbirds, and your other favorites, without putting your home at risk. Simply evaluate your safety, make artificial snags, construct brush piles, and use a balanced habitat approach. You can help birds without endangering your home.
Begin by assessing safety. Snags close to structures, power lines, or busy roadways will need professional input. A certified arborist will assess if a dead tree is a risk or if it can be safely reduced to a wildlife pole (typically 15 to 20 feet tall with the branches removed). This keeps the tree’s habitat value and eliminates the risk.
Think about making artificial snags when removing a tree. Rather than grinding the stump down, you could leave a tall stump. It is also possible to use snag poles, which are debarked logs that are placed vertically in the ground to be left to weather. While snag poles do lack some benefits of natural snags, they still offer perching and possibly nesting sites.
Consider additional features. Combine snags with brush piles made from your trimmed branches. These ground-level shelters provide habitat for thrashers, towhees, sparrows, and wrens, and provide cover for insects that feed woodpeckers and other snag-dependent species. The habitability of your snag habitat enhances with nearby water sources.
Plan for the future. Young trees planted today will become tomorrow's snags. Oak, pine, and hickory trees are some of the best species for providing wildlife habitats. In the meantime, you can use nest boxes designed for chickadees, bluebirds, and woodpeckers.
Function and aesthetics can be achieved with snag habitat more informally located on your property. If dead trees are visible and bothersome, place snag habitat in the back corner of your property, along a fence line, or in a more naturalized garden bed. To enhance the appearance and provide habitat for pollinators, surround the base with native perennials and grasses.
Small alterations can lead to significant effects. Your yard can easily have a big increase in its bird diversity and even attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and bluebirds with just one strategically positioned snag. Your not simply putting up with a dead tree; you’re offering much-needed habitat that is disappearing from our landscape. Happy birding!
