Blunt flails will damage a hedge, water'll run down the cracks in the branches
rspb hedge campaign
- Thread starter AndrewM
- Start date
Andrew Ward, Viz Wardys weekly waffle, refers to twigging his hedges every year, leaving a lot of berries for the birds while stopping the hedges from spreading into his arable acres. It's all about being sensitive to what's there.
Ali_Maxxum
Member
- Location
- Chepstow, Wales
What a lot of shyte some of that is. A huge factor for a good hedge beneficial to livestock and wild life is simply what type of hedge it is. Black thorn and holly with maybe some very small bits of hazel amongst it is perfect.
As a hedge cutting contractor I am very much up close and personal with the things. There is no pattern or trend whatsoever as to where a bird will nest, but I can tell you now far more are nesting in tight, well maintained hedges than anything that has been let go. You see far more birds darting in and out of tightly trimmed hedges than anything else as well. Annually cut hedges will also flower and produce fruit, contrary to the claims from a lot of the wild life brigade.
Leaving hedges or growing them up serves no benefit for anything, they just go hard and leggy and that's when you start getting the gaps. One of our farms, the hedges are that good they keep in cattle and sheep and there is no fencing against either side. You just lightly trim them up every year, but keep them tight and they are perfect, looking tidy is a bonus!
On the same farm a lot of tall 'hedges' (pretty much trees) were coppiced with a shear at the base, then black thorn and holly planted in between and I've been shaping them up ever since and they are some of the best hedges on the farm.
Why you would ever let a good hedge grow up to then eventually lay is beyond me. A lot of 'hedges' I trim have had that done to them and they are by far the worst, waste of time sections of hedges around the place. Hedge laying to me just appears to be a natural way of doing post and rail fencing.... A lot that do lay hedges then leave them to be laid again, why?! The monumental amount of work and ball ache it takes, the amount to clear up and process and not to mention the environmental impact (co2) compared to if it had just been trimmed quietly every year.
And then you get the folk that want to let them go and 're-wild' on the side of the main road! A whole nother line of problems follows that. If you want to, fine, but the side of the highway is not the place to practice it.
I'm not sure why the RSPB are panicking, how many would suddenly start bull dozing the hedges out again, very few I would imagine.
As a hedge cutting contractor I am very much up close and personal with the things. There is no pattern or trend whatsoever as to where a bird will nest, but I can tell you now far more are nesting in tight, well maintained hedges than anything that has been let go. You see far more birds darting in and out of tightly trimmed hedges than anything else as well. Annually cut hedges will also flower and produce fruit, contrary to the claims from a lot of the wild life brigade.
Leaving hedges or growing them up serves no benefit for anything, they just go hard and leggy and that's when you start getting the gaps. One of our farms, the hedges are that good they keep in cattle and sheep and there is no fencing against either side. You just lightly trim them up every year, but keep them tight and they are perfect, looking tidy is a bonus!
On the same farm a lot of tall 'hedges' (pretty much trees) were coppiced with a shear at the base, then black thorn and holly planted in between and I've been shaping them up ever since and they are some of the best hedges on the farm.
Why you would ever let a good hedge grow up to then eventually lay is beyond me. A lot of 'hedges' I trim have had that done to them and they are by far the worst, waste of time sections of hedges around the place. Hedge laying to me just appears to be a natural way of doing post and rail fencing.... A lot that do lay hedges then leave them to be laid again, why?! The monumental amount of work and ball ache it takes, the amount to clear up and process and not to mention the environmental impact (co2) compared to if it had just been trimmed quietly every year.
And then you get the folk that want to let them go and 're-wild' on the side of the main road! A whole nother line of problems follows that. If you want to, fine, but the side of the highway is not the place to practice it.
I'm not sure why the RSPB are panicking, how many would suddenly start bull dozing the hedges out again, very few I would imagine.
I see the fruits of the hedge, and the birds that feed on them, and place a value on that.
Presumably, you don't.
The fact that some here would trim them at any time says a lot.
Not, I would postulate, our finest advocates.
hey ho.... increased legal enforcement will surely be along dreckly.
The wall hedge building / layers deserve big respect , its a hard physical job out in all weathers and the skills are valuable, and will be more so if machinery costs increase a lot.
and there's far more tenacity required than sitting on a comfy tractor seat,
good for the constitution as well.
and there's far more tenacity required than sitting on a comfy tractor seat,
good for the constitution as well.
Ali_Maxxum
Member
- Location
- Chepstow, Wales
I do, actually. Plenty of times I have gone around huge clumps of berries, or other times they are on a string that seems to be growing along the hedge just about on the cut line, so I've just lifted the head above it to leave it there.
I don't encourage trimming outside of the cutting season, but in the eyes of road safety I do. I don't see the harm going into March, as the birds don't magically move in on the 1st of March. Plus if it's cold the birds don't really start floating around till April. Have spoken to NFU on the subject and would you believe some common sense and discretion is allowed to be implemented.
Just last spring I noticed the birds were around quite early, then it came cold and they disappeared again. Living right next to a forest you pick up on these things.
- Location
- East yorks
It’s illegal to remove hedges without permission so I am not sure what they are on about I assume they are worried about trimming earlier but as most people have crops on fields till august anyway I cannot see it making much difference.
someone locally asked for planning to remove a hedge to drain a field then replant and got told to get lost in no uncertain terms.
on another note anyone planting blackthorn here is flogged to within an inch of their life then stoned
Ali_Maxxum
Member
- Location
- Chepstow, Wales
Well that's just it, you get the few that will still get on arable ground in August but it's hardly going to be the masses flying out with their trimmers at the beginning of July! Harvest, hay, everything else but hedges I would say is on peoples minds first. As harvest and hay went on till the 25th September for us (with maize to follow) we didn't start this season till the first week of October.It’s illegal to remove hedges without permission so I am not sure what they are on about I assume they are worried about trimming earlier but as most people have crops on fields till august anyway I cannot see it making much difference.
someone locally asked for planning to remove a hedge to drain a field then replant and got told to get lost in no uncertain terms.
on another note anyone planting blackthorn here is flogged to within an inch of their life then stoned
I think some of these people just like to flap for the sake of flapping, you'd think some of them don't sleep at night or would be on the verge of a nervous breakdown! Must be a ruddy miserable life.
Ist of sept is ok if you have youre own trimmer or a contractor doesnt have a particularly big round.
this where the critical mass thing comes into importance. less people about (with the right skills and motivation) will make evrything more and more not possible. within a sensible season .
its just adapting to it all . wouldnt want it to be 1st October though that would skummer things.
Theres more hedges in my County than any other and ive trimmed on several farms , and over a period of 40 odd years , on different types of soils as well so i wont listen to anyone else .and managed our own for that length of time .
why should listen to anyone else opinion let alone the rspb
this where the critical mass thing comes into importance. less people about (with the right skills and motivation) will make evrything more and more not possible. within a sensible season .
its just adapting to it all . wouldnt want it to be 1st October though that would skummer things.
Theres more hedges in my County than any other and ive trimmed on several farms , and over a period of 40 odd years , on different types of soils as well so i wont listen to anyone else .and managed our own for that length of time .
why should listen to anyone else opinion let alone the rspb
This is where fixed dates cause more problems, for a start road hedges here in the West Country very quickly grow out making already narrow roads even more dangerous for kids on bikes & ponies & walkers during their summer holidays & as for holiday makers who couldn't reverse on a airport runway it quickly becomes a nightmare.
You haven't got to be that clever to realise that birds are never going to nest in narrow road hedges being constantly rattled by vehicles when there are miles of field hedges to nest in, surely an allowance could be made to enable road hedges to be trimmed earlier?
when i worked for a contractor in the eighties we used to start the first week in july after WB and some road hedges,
road safety was all right but if im honest i used to think that harvesting shouldve been the priority at that time and it was quite very hot in the cabs without aircon and all doors and windows shut.
but anyway to be tighter on the farm we used to put the trimmer on the loader tractor and load a trailler with straw and send him off then trim a round until he got back ,sort of two jobs at a time.
different days i guess,
road safety was all right but if im honest i used to think that harvesting shouldve been the priority at that time and it was quite very hot in the cabs without aircon and all doors and windows shut.
but anyway to be tighter on the farm we used to put the trimmer on the loader tractor and load a trailler with straw and send him off then trim a round until he got back ,sort of two jobs at a time.
different days i guess,
it is.
You are allowed to trim for road safety so whats the problem? Do you not know the regulations ?
Old Boar
Member
- Location
- West Wales
I thought this was about the RSPB wanting money for a hedge fund.
I will just go for a short walk...
I will just go for a short walk...
well i honestly reckon theres more birds around here than ive seen ,ever in my time, next door has some wild bird mix ground and its full of flocks of finches(not quite sure what they are ) and they come over to our side in the taller hedges around the buildings ,its great to see them tbh, maybe that s just me .
loads of alsorts ,blackbirds robins sparrows thrushes had to control the magpies mind you. as they like taller shrub,smaller tree type nesting as well.
loads of alsorts ,blackbirds robins sparrows thrushes had to control the magpies mind you. as they like taller shrub,smaller tree type nesting as well.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Well, I've just coppiced 250m in 5 hours. Looks pretty brutal but has got rid of the briars. Will gap up next month. Light trim in maybe three years.
With ditches as deep as round here, you cant beat a good snip / laying. The ones I did when I took over here are looking ace now, rather than the scruffy mess they were before. One more run of 300m to do next year, then the place will be tip top.
Hedges are part of the infrastructure and need to be maintained.
With ditches as deep as round here, you cant beat a good snip / laying. The ones I did when I took over here are looking ace now, rather than the scruffy mess they were before. One more run of 300m to do next year, then the place will be tip top.
Hedges are part of the infrastructure and need to be maintained.
When I enquired with the ministry I was told in no uncertain terms that only on corners or dangerous stretches, there never seems to be clear guidance on what is allowed.
- Location
- Carmarthenshire, West Wales
how did you coppice? Chainsaw or tree shears? I am guessing coppicing is the traditional method in East Anglia?
Brambling it could be , masses of them swirling around. so thats worth the publics money it seems.
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but its ok and no one can ethically challenge a road being made safer/better visibilty or brambles from harming a cyclist
key theory is to check theres no birds nests in that stretch,
