Dead beech

You dont see too many of these sorts of dead trunks around these days - they normally get felled for "safety reasons"

However as you can see from this roadside specimen dead trunks are a haven for all sorts of wildlife once they start to rot a bit :)

This is part of a beautiful half mile long avenue of beeches down one side of the road leading into our valley. Sadly many have fallen in the gales in recent years, and its heartbreaking seeing them lying in the fields being chainsawed for firewood. :crying:

It definitely has a certain beauty to it too, Ross!

At Culzean, Wisley, Exbury - and many other places where trees are managed properly and there is regard for wildlife, trees like that are often left like that.

Near where we stay now is the New Forest, and trees are usually left lying where they fell to allow Nature to play her part.

(I see you're in the Borders, Ross. We used to stay in Lanark, and an avenue of huge beech trees between there and Biggar was a special place for us to visit - no matter what the time of year!:))

That's a beauty Ross :)
The conservationists are now leavening dead trunks in various places to encourage Stag Beetles population. There is one fenced off in Jubilee Park nature reserve Petts Wood and I have seen them in various places as well

Heres a pic of the avenue of beeches stretching off into the distance. The road curves round to the left and finishes a few hundred yards past that wall that crosses the field on the left.

Nice capture.:thumbsup:
Makes you feel you are looking down the road

They've started leaving some of the fallen tree stumps in situ now at our local woods and reserves, as mentioned above, great for large and small insects and leaves the woods looking more like they would naturally.:)