Yesterday was a big day for me.
I have a huge elm tree on my side yard that I sometimes call the Eagle Tree because Bald Eagles occasionally perch in it in winter. For me it’s a momentous occasion to have a Bald Eagle in my own yard. That tree is the biggest tree in the entire neighborhood. Forty one years ago my subdivision was a large cow pasture and my tree was just about the only one in the area. One of my neighbors who bought his house in 1979 says that my tree was a big one even back then. It’s absolutely huge now, especially for a tree in this desert.
Here’s one of the eagles that appeared several years ago. Sometimes the bird would show up daily for a week or even two. I could never get decent photographs because the angle’s so steep and the setting so cluttery but just having them there was a delight for me.
In a different year this eagle showed up tangled in fishing line with part of a bird, possibly a coot, hanging from the end of the line. I was afraid the monofilament line would become entangled in the tree and doom the eagle but there wasn’t anything I could do about it and thankfully it didn’t happen.
Another eagle another year gave me a delightful wing stretch. This is probably my favorite photo of an eagle in my tree despite the band on its right leg.
But that tree has been a pain in the ass for decades. Chinese Elms are “dirty” trees – even a slight wind rains small branches down all over my lawn and garden, seed pods are shed by the gazillion in the spring and every one of them sprouts when they land in my garden and it sheds its leaves very slowly in the late fall so we usually have snow by then and the result is a huge mess.
But the worst problem has been falling limbs. Big ones, especially when the wind blows or during wet snow storms. They’ve done a lot of damage in my yard and my neighbor’s yard and this past winter one of them fell on my neighbor’s house, went through the roof and penetrated the interior ceiling of his young son’s bedroom.
So the Eagle Tree had to go and yesterday was the day it happened. The tree sits on the boundary of my property and the yard of my neighbor so we shared the expense of removal.
This is it in all its “glory”, photo taken just as the crews from Diamond Tree Experts were arriving soon after dawn. Everything was backlit but I thought the tree in silhouette was an effective way of showing how big it is relative to the houses. The crane operator told me the tree is about 90′ tall from tip to base (he has instrumentation inside the crane that accurately tells him how far the crane’s boom is extended).
This guy is the key to the entire operation. I call him the “Sky Guy” because he hangs from the crane to get up there and he spent the entire morning in the tree – making critical cuts at just the right places to allow the rest of his crew below, four other guys, to get the job done safely. The Sky Guy is highly skilled and he has all the guts in the world. For me it was scary just to watch him.
And he’s on his way. I took this photo and the previous one from the front window of my house.
Here he’s about half way up the tree but he had much further to go. In case you’re curious, all that greenery growing up some of the tree trunks is ivy.
The tree is such a mess of branches and twigs that he had great difficulty maneuvering through it to get to just the right places to tie off the crane’s cable and make the cuts. The forked trunk on the right is next to go.
Here it’s hanging over my house on its way to the street. I spent the entire morning sitting in a chair on my neighbor’s driveway across the street, camera in hand of course.
Each time the highly skilled crane operator would lay the excised part of the tree…
lengthwise on the street (the street had been closed off) so the rest of the crew could cut it up into manageable pieces and then load them onto trucks with a front end loader. It was an efficient operation and thankfully it all went smoothly.
But the Sky Guy had many cuts to make and there were many loads to deliver to the street. He sometimes disappeared in all that ivy – it must have been a real pain for him to deal with.
Here he’s making one of the cuts with his chain saw.
And here we see that same limb being delivered to the street.
I always held my breath while the load was passing directly over my house. The crane operator also has instrumentation that weighs the load and he told me that some of them weighed well over 6000 lbs. If a cable had broken or slipped when this photo was taken the limb would have gone through my roof, the ceiling and floor of the upper floor and ended up in my basement.
That possibility definitely gave me pause.
Eventually they got the entire tree down but then they had to cut the stump down as low and level as possible. For a variety of reasons my neighbor and I decided to leave the stump in place.
Here’s the stump after everything else was removed. I’ve included the old tennis shoe for scale. I measured the diameter of the stump and at its widest point it’s 6′ 7″ in diameter.
The only real surprise of the morning was finding a den of garter snakes at the base of the tree. One of the snakes is visible – can you spot it?
It’s at the lower right – we can only see part of its body and tail hanging down. The entrance to the den is just to the right of the tail. We found 8 snakes and who knows how many more of them are still inside the den or elsewhere. One of the members of the crew was afraid of snakes but I told him I love having them around.
Meet Khysen, my neighbor’s son. It was his bedroom that was penetrated by the tree limb so I figured he deserved to provide additional scale for the size of the stump.
I’ll miss that tree in some ways. It provided shade and a nice ambience on my deck but overall I’m delighted to see it gone. It will take some getting used to though. I can’t believe how much sky has suddenly appeared in the view from my front yard and driveway.
Ron
Notes:
- Yes, I checked for nesting birds before the tree was cut down. Didn’t find any.
- If you had trouble loading this post it’s because it’s so big with this many photos. Nothing I can do about it at this point…
5/5/2019 @ 11:31:14 Love this site– extremely easy to navigate and tons of stuff to explore!
It sounds like it was time. You are incredibly lucky that they got it down without damaging either home.
Charlotte
That is such a neat shot of the Eagle in wing stretch! Too good.
What a slick tree outfit, nice to have things go really well.
Thanks, Dave. I don’t remember ever getting that particular pose from a Bald Eagle, before or since.
Ron,
I always hate to see old, large trees go the way of the world. So many things they have seen and it took so long to grow so big. Enjoy the view.
SEC
Yup, that tree could tell a lot of stories…
A nearish neighbour had three trees removed this week. For aesthetic (?!) reasons. I mourn their absence. I am sorry that you had to lose the eagle perch, but understand. And am blown away at the professionalism of the people you hired.
My crew was very good, EC. I’d recommend Diamond Tree Experts in a heartbeat.
That tree had a ton of history behind it. As much as I love your Eagle shots, that stump is beautiful! Since you had to have it cut, too bad you didn’t take a slice near the stump to make a table top. I can see in my minds eye either part of or all of it as a beautiful table top.
I thought about it, Dick. But that wood was so incredibly wet inside it was dripping water all over the street. Besides, with my bad back my carpentry days are over.
I can understand, 90% of my woodworking has diminished. But, a nice slice of that stump cured correctly would have been gorgeous!
The stump looks like two or three trees grown together.
The last eagle photo is great; reminds me of a cat with claws scratching or an animal ready to pounce.
The look on Khysen’s face says “I’m not gonna get paid for this, am I?”
Both sides of my house have big cedars, firs, and alders close by, way too many to cut down. I figure if they come down on the house and take me with them, well, it was worth having them as neighbors. If they don’t kill me the neighbors will think I was an idiot for putting the house so close to them. And they’re probably right.
“The stump looks like two or three trees grown together”
It depends on where you are vertically on the stump, Lyle. Down about 4″ below where they cut it off it’s a single stump. Up about 8″ from where they cut it off it was separated into 7 different major trunks, each one looking like an individual tree.
I think Khysen was looking forward to being “star” for a day…
Great eagle shots, especially the wing stretch. Excellent shots of the men working the tree down. I have watched this and shot it when I had a huge oak taken down (Sudden oak death, aka Phytophthera ramorum, got it)and the men who operate the machinery and who get up in the trees are professionals with huge technical expertise. I was deeply impressed. The men who did your tree are apparently of the same calibre. I am actually in awe.
My guys were great, Martha. They knew what they were doing and they did it very well.
I understand the mixed emotions around taking down a huge, beautiful, and potentially destructive tree. The 40+ years old Liquid Amber in my front yard needs to go, but if we end up taking out the stump and roots (which are starting to push on the foundation), the entire front yard and driveway will go with it. On the flip side, I’m not sure I want a huge stump as the focal point of my front yard. I’m still hemming and hawing about it, but i know it will be done before 2019 is over.
BTW, that first eagle is totally judging you. 😉
Marty, “hemming and hawing” was my middle name for years about that tree. Part of the delay was the expense of having it removed but as damage to my house became more likely it eventually became a no-brainer.
OH MY!!!! I love trees… but am terrified of big branches falling and killing someone – happened in Berkeley in Jan or Feb; some 35 year old guy sitting in his car, parked next to UC Berkeley and BOOM. He’s dead. We don’t have any massive trees here, but in NApa we had an ENORMOUS coastal redwood. Probably planted in the 1940’s… and one year and massive 6 foot branch flew off the tree in a storm and landed on the sand box, 50+ feet away from the tree, next to the house, and I had to call the special redwood pruning guys to come and remove the weak limbs… Still, I’m worried about heavy rains and the whole thing crashing down on my neighbors house… URK
Agreed, Nicky. Some trees can be scary!
Yes, the art of tree trimming is something to watch.
Even though the eagles only came occasionally what a sight to look at your window and see that beauty ❗️
I had question about an eagle to a eagle chat group and they referred me to Feathered Photography😁 I said I know him❗️
“I had question about an eagle to a eagle chat group and they referred me to Feathered Photography I said I know him”
That brought a smile, Diana. Thanks for that!
I counted two garter snakes. I’m a huge fan of snakes so I’m glad they still have their stump for coverage.
Yes, there are two there, Arwen. Good eye.
I understand the sadness in loosing a tree but I have a vendetta against two trees. Both are invasive species and filthy. They are Siberian Elm and “Tree of Heaven” more like (Tree of Hell). The loss of something appealing to the Eagles is a real loss. Maybe they will find something close by they like as well.
The osprey I had in my neighborhood seemed to prefer weeping willow that hung over the lake. Good luck with the new vistas.
I too once had a Tree of Heaven” at another house. I know what you mean about them, Betty.
WOW that is a big Elm tree. I too have a Chinese Elm in the back yard. Yes they are a mess to clean up around. Broken branches and the seed pods. Lots of nice shade and have squirrels, Robins, Black Birds, and Morning Doves all nest in the tree over the years. Never any Eagles or Hawks, but a few of those garter snakes are around too. High winds in the area and nasty winters have done their job on the tree. Great pictures. The last one of the young boy did not come thru, but that is ok. Have a nice week and go bird hunting.
It was the largest elm tree I remember seeing anywhere, Trudy. For some reason I’ve never seen birds nesting in it though some smaller species may have nested in the ivy. Lots of birds liked to perch in it though, including our neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk.
Hi Ron,
If this were a Facebook post, I would insert a “WOW!” emoji! You and your neighbor chose your contractor wisely – a very professional job! And, is that another herp (skink, maybe?) to the right of the snake?
Cheers,
Dick
Thanks, Dick. I’m not seeing the herp you mention but it would be extremely unusual to find a skink around here.
It’s another snake………
Ok, I see it now. They seemed to be everywhere…
WOW! Quite the process to remove that large a tree in tight quarters! HATE to see large old trees go BUT also aware of the fact it has to happen from time to time….. 🙁 Gorgeous tree! 🙂 Had a huge old dead cottonwood that had to go before it fell on the top of our well last year – much more primitive method but got the job done. Glad you documented the process! 🙂 Bet you’ll miss the shade.. 😉 Eagle shots are wonderful – love the wing stretch.. 🙂
Yes, I will miss the shade, Judy – especially in 100 degree heat this summer. But the peace of mind is worth it. Thank you.
Always a shame to have to take out a tree, but that crew did an outstanding job. We have an arborist here who is also a competitive tree climber. When they took out a couple trees for us I took numerous photos as you have. Really interesting to watch how they take down a large tree like that. Envious that you had eagles in a tree in your yard. My passion is photographing eagles and I do it as often as I can during the season here. Not everyone shares that love of eagles though. One day while photographing eagles here a woman hiker came by and chatted with me. I said,”don’t you just love seeing the eagles here?” She responded,”Honey, I used to live in Alaska.”
PS: I did find the snake’s tail after you pointed it out. Thanks for sharing this Ron.
I suspect she may have still enjoyed seeing them, even though she lived in Alaska at one point. Some folks just like to appear jaded about what others are excited about. Somehow it seems to give them a feeling of superiority.
Typically I find 1-3 garter snakes in my garden or lawn every summer but I had no idea there was a den of them. I’m glad they’re there.
Well documented, Ron! If I were in charge at the tree company, I’d give you a discount in exchange for the use of your photos in promotional materials. Their skills and expertise are evident!
Diane, choosing Diamond Tree Experts was an excellent decision. They were professional, efficient, good to work with and there were no “incidents”. Another bid I got from a different tree company was almost $2000 more expensive.
WHAT A LOSS………no question that it had to be done, but still ! When I was forced to take down a huge elm at my house, the arborist made a number of cross-cuts on top of the stump,
and explained that if I regularly poured rock salt into the cuts that I could control regrowth and suckers without using poison, which idea I had told him I abhorred. That worked well as long as I
owned the house. When a stump is so huge, digging it out isn’t an option, especially when it’s that close to the house, with roots running under your basement……both you and the eagles
have my sympathy.
Kris, I struggled with the idea of using a herbicide too but in the end we had them treat the stump. They told me I should never have suckers and with my bad back I had to choose the option that required the least amount of work long-term.
Nothing like the skill and wisdom of an arborist! I’m sure come summer with the sun high in the sky you’ll be surprised how bright your interior is but peace of mind will more than make up for it! Watching an arborist and his crew dismantle a tree is mind boggling but well worth the cost of having a professional do the job.
Exactly, Kathy. I’m going to have to get some new window shades for one of my kitchen windows because of all the sun streaming in in the morning. But peace of mind is worth a lot!
I so love the photo of the eagle ready to fly!!! You are amazing, Ron. Thanks so much!
Thanks, Mary. Actually the eagle was only stretching its wings. It didn’t fly anytime soon.
It’s hard to lose a big tree, even when you know it has to go. I’ve had several Siberian Elms removed, the last a couple of years ago. I had kept it because it was my “sacrificial tree” for the squirrels to gnaw on but the polar vortex of 2014 finally killed it off. I’m sorry that you lost your eagle hangout.
I’m sad in some ways too, Linda. But mostly I’m relieved…