Sunday 25 December 2016

Friday 16 December 2016

The Roosting Tree of our Chestnut-Headed Beeeaters - GONE!

This particular casuarina tree was my favourite tree in Kuah town because it was also the favourite tree for our migrants, the Chestnut-Headed Beeeaters Meriops leschenaulti. During the birds migratory season like now, these Beeeaters will come back to this particular tree every evening at dusk to roost. Not only every day but every year! I have been observing them for the past couple of years. There is another casuarina tree at the opposite side of the road but they were not keen.

This was photographed in October 2015
 If you have read my older post on Langkawi Birdwatching Tour: The Roosting of Chestnut-Headed Beeeaters, you will see how bird lovers will be thrilled to see them in the heart of Kuah town.
This was photographed in October 2015
They were seen roosting on this same tree for this season until recently, towards the end of November the local council decided to play with the mean and evil chainsaws. Of all the trees they must pick, this particular casuarina tree became the victim. I was horrified by the sight of this.
The top section of this poor casuarina tree was gone. Photo taken on 1st December 2016
On this evening when these photos were taken, I observed a flock of these Beeeaters hovered above this tortured tree for a few seconds before flying further away to the hills.

I am not an arborist or a landscape expert but I have read about proper trimming or pruning a tree. At least, the workers have left some foliage on this tree. May it continue to survive.

According to BY Joe Lamp'L who wrote about Tree Topping – What You Don’t Know is Killing Your Trees, topping is considered the most harmful tree pruning practice known. In fact, it’s regarded as such a  serious crime against nature, one organization’s major efforts over the past two decades has been to stop this “torture and mutilation”.

Another article on Tree Pruning and Trimming mistakes, says that topping is usually one of the most obvious and ugly of tree pruning mistakes. Topping involves cutting away a large section of the top of a tree's crown, or all the leafing branches across the top half of the tree. What you're left with is a very ugly deformed specimen with severely weaken branch structure.

Now I have to find their new roosting ground in Kuah.
Chestnut-Headed Beeeater with a butterfly

References:
Joe Lamp'l. "Tree Topping – What You Don't Know Is Killing Your Trees - Growing A Greener World®." Growing A Greener World®. N.p., 03 July 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/tree-topping-what-you-dont-know-is-killing-your-trees/
https://preservationtree.com/blog/top-five-tree-pruning-trimming-mistakes [accessed 11 Dec 2016]