Tree and hedge work in the nesting season

Spring and summer are when most people want hedges tidied and trees cut back, and they are also when birds are nesting in them. The law protects those nests whatever the time of year, in a back garden as much as on a farm.

What the law says

Under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to intentionally:

• kill, injure or take any wild bird;
• take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; or
• take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.

So the question is not the month but whether a nest is in use. Cutting into a hedge with an active nest in it can be an offence in April or in October. In practice, nests are far more likely in spring and summer, which is why that is when the checks matter most.

The farm hedgerow rules

On farmland there is a fixed rule as well. The hedgerow management rules say a hedgerow covered by them must not be cut or trimmed from 1 March to 31 August. They protect hedgerows on agricultural land, including grazing land, meadows, market gardens, nursery grounds and allotments, and hedgerows on farmland that borders other land. A hedgerow is covered if it is more than 20 metres long with gaps of 20 metres or less, or shorter but meeting another hedgerow at each end.

There are exemptions, for example where a hedgerow blocks the view of people using a road or right of way, or poses a risk to health or safety. Even then, the rules say only the parts needed for the exemption may be cut, a record must be kept, and where the exemption is for sowing in August the whole hedgerow must be checked for birds, nests and eggs first. If any are found, that hedgerow cannot be cut.

The checks we make

Before any hedge or tree work in the nesting season, we check for nesting birds. If we find an active nest, the law means that part of the work has to wait until the nest is no longer in use, and we will tell you.

For farmers and landowners, the hedgerow rules also say you must not cause or permit anyone else to cut a covered hedgerow from 1 March to 31 August, so the ban applies to work you book as well as work you do yourself.

Planning ahead

If you can choose when the work happens, autumn and winter make an active nest much less likely. If something cannot wait, such as a branch over a path or a tree that has become unsafe, we can still look at it, and check it carefully first.

Hedge cutting sits with our pruning work.