Cavity Trees

In the realm of commercial forestry, trees with holes are undesirable. They take up space where more valuable, sound trees can grow. For that reason cavity trees have been all but eliminated on millions of acres. It’s that money thing.
 
But in southern woodlands, trees with cavities once occurred naturally at varying frequency across the landscape. Cavities form when trees are injured or diseased; animals, especially woodpeckers, excavate holes in living and dead trees. As vital components of a forest, cavity trees provide nesting, roosting, and denning habitat for many types of wildlife. At least 85 species of birds in North America are dependent on cavities. In this region, many of our most popular birds nest in cavities including the eastern bluebird, Carolina wren, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, prothonotary warbler, tree swallow, purple martin, and wood duck.