Tree-Trimming During Fall, Winter Seasons Reduces Risk Of Disturbing CV Wildlife

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A wildlife preservation nonprofit has advised Coachella Valley residents that Friday through January is the best time for trimming or removing trees, as the fall and winter seasons avoid peak bird- nesting season.

Tree-trimming during the warmer months of spring and summer can "unintentionally destroy nests, separate young birds from their parents or disturb bats using palms and other trees for shelter and raising their young," according to Oswit Land Trust.

Throughout the region, palm trees provide shelter and sustenance for birds and other animals. Homeowners and landscapers often remove or trim the skirts off of the native California fan palm and the non-native Mexican fan palm, which provide shelter for birds and bats. Palms are also trimmed to eliminate flower and seed stalks, but those seeds provide valuable food for the wildlife.

Tamara Hedges, a board member for Oswit Land Trust and Desert Wildlife Center, expressed concerns about trimming during busy nesting season from February through September, saying in part, "Over the last six months, the Desert Wildlife Center saw many nestling and fledging patients who were displaced from their nests struggling to survive after their homes were destroyed by chainsaws and hedge trimmers. Baby rabbits and other small mammals were also injured, or even killed; their shady and cool safe havens destroyed just when they are most needed."

The organization also emphasized that wildlife rely on all types of vegetation, including native trees, ornamental trees, shrubs and hedges for food and shelter and it highlighted the importance of postponing trimming or removal work if a bird nest is active.

"A relatively small change in how — and especially when — we maintain our landscapes can help protect the wildlife that share the Coachella Valley with us," the organization said in a statement.

The nonprofit was critical of the Palm Springs City Council's decision to remove skits on palm trees throughout the city earlier this year. The municipal trimming project involves targeting skirts of California fan palms and Mexican fan palms on the basis that it posed a risk to public heath.

"In addition to the physical danger of falling skirts — which can weigh anywhere from 1,000 to over 4,000 pounds — palm tree skirts harbor pests and rodents that pose significant public health risks," city staff said in a statement earlier this year. "Roof rats are common nesters in palm tree skirts throughout Southern California. ... Tree skirts also provide ideal habitat for cockroaches, which carry bacteria including E. coli and salmonella."

OLT Executive Director Jane Garrison said in a statement at the time, "This is a massive removal of habitat versus trimming the trees 12 feet up from the bottom."

The city project will be completed in phases over the next four years.