Tree felling and nesting birds: when you can fell a tree in the UK

Waiting for the season or felling after a nest check: what changes for tree work?

Two routes are used for tree felling around the bird nesting season: move the work to a time when no birds are nesting in the tree, or keep the date and have the tree checked for active nests first. The difference shows in the checks, the schedule and in how urgent safety work is handled.

Neither route replaces permission from the authorities. In England, consent for a tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order comes from the local planning authority, and a felling licence from the Forestry Commission. Bird protection applies on top of both.

What does the law protect when a tree is felled in the nesting season?

Wild birds, their eggs and their nests are protected by law. Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 applies in England, Wales and Scotland. It is an offence there to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird. That protection runs while the nest is in use or being built.

In Scotland, the provisions of the 1981 Act on wild birds, their nests and eggs were amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011. In Northern Ireland, nidirect states that all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, as amended.

No months appear in that protection. GOV.UK standing advice for planning decisions in England says active nests are protected regardless of the time of year. The same advice says the start and end of the breeding season vary from place to place. For England, Natural England's GOV.UK guidance names the penalty for disturbing nesting birds: an unlimited fine and up to 6 months in prison for each offence.

When waiting until outside the breeding season suits the tree felling

Waiting fits a sound tree that can stand for another few months. Garden trees, boundary trees and a plot being cleared before a new house is built usually leave room in the calendar. The waiting time is rarely idle, because consent and licences have their own run-up.

• England, conservation area: work on a tree without a Tree Preservation Order must be notified to the local planning authority 6 weeks in advance. After that the work may be carried out within 2 years, unless the authority makes an Order.
• England, felling licence: the Forestry Commission requires a licence to fell more than 5 cubic metres of growing trees in a calendar quarter, counting trees of 8 cm diameter or more at 1.3 m. Exceptions include fruit trees and trees in gardens, churchyards and public open spaces.
• Scotland: Scottish Forestry guidance on forest operations and birds says a felling permission can carry conditions, for example a timing window that avoids the breeding season, or marked exclusion zones.
• England, farmland: hedgerows and hedgerow trees on land used for agriculture must not be cut or trimmed from 1 March to 31 August, which sets the rhythm of work on farms.

When tree felling during the breeding season goes ahead after a nest check

Felling during the breeding season happens when the tree cannot wait. A stem split by a storm, a trunk leaning over a road and a dead tree beside a path are the usual cases. GOV.UK guidance for England lists exceptions to a Tree Preservation Order for certain work on dead or dangerous trees. Those exceptions concern the Order, not the protection of birds.

Fixed dates on a site being cleared before demolition can also rule out a long wait. Forestry Commission guidance for England says felling in the breeding season is not banned in every case, but precautions are required by law. It asks for attention to birds and bats in the trees to be felled.

GOV.UK standing advice for planning decisions in England says bird surveys should be carried out by qualified, experienced ecologists. Where work is planned around nesting time, it advises more than one visit across the breeding months. Scottish Forestry's guidance for forests in Scotland says felling a tree with a wild bird nest in the breeding season can be an offence. That guidance expects the operator to show the work was lawful, that reasonable precautions were taken and that damage was mitigated.

Which permission does tree felling need, and who gives it in each nation?

Permission for tree felling comes from a different body in each nation, and it is decided separately from the bird rules. One check is about the tree and the land; the other is about nesting birds.

• England: a Tree Preservation Order made by the local planning authority forbids cutting down, topping, lopping or uprooting a protected tree without its consent. Exceptions include certain work on dead or dangerous trees.
• England: the Forestry Commission issues felling licences. A Tree Preservation Order can still require consent from the council for the same tree.
• Scotland: Scottish Forestry states that you must apply for a felling permission unless the work is exempt. For a tree in a conservation area without an Order, section 172 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 requires notice to the planning authority, with the work done on its consent, or after 6 weeks and within 2 years.
• Wales: Natural Resources Wales issues felling licences. GOV.WALES explains that a licence is needed before felling growing trees, with limited exceptions, and that environmental conditions can be written into it.
• Northern Ireland: councils make and enforce Tree Preservation Orders, and their consent is needed to fell or prune a protected tree.

Bats, competence and what else to settle before a tree comes down

Birds are not the only protected life in a tree. All bat species and their roosts are protected, and GOV.UK guidance says work likely to disturb a bat or a roost normally needs a licence from Natural England in England. Forestry Commission guidance for England asks for attention to bats as well as birds in the trees to be felled.

Felling and pruning at height is work for a competent arboricultural contractor, that is, a firm trained in tree care. HSE guidance on tree work sets out what to look at when you engage a contractor. It names certificates of competence for chainsaw use, tree climbing and aerial rescue, chippers and mobile elevating work platforms. Climbing a tree or running a chainsaw at height is not work to take on yourself.

Which route fits your tree: wait for the season, or check the tree first?

Wait until outside the breeding season if the tree is sound, if the work can move in the calendar, and if consent or a licence is still being processed. Have the tree checked and fell within the season if the tree is unsafe, if storm damage has already happened, or if a fixed site programme leaves no room to wait. In both cases the nest decides: it is protected while it is in use or being built, whatever the date on the quotation.

If you are looking for a contractor for the work, describe the tree, the access and the site in a request. It goes to exactly one business, it is free and without obligation for you, and that business pays for the request.