Placing bird house caches in trees - Australia

[Darwin473]

Hullo Aussie cachers!

 

I'd like to put a wooden bird house style cache in a tree but I'm not sure what the preferred method in Australia is for positioning in a tree in Australian conditions.

 

The first option I thought of was including a long wooden hook as part of the structure. Making the whole bird house easy to put in and out of a tree on a suitable branch. Even if the cache sits for months on end without being visited, it shouldn't affect or damage the tree. If this was done by extending the back up over the top, then that might leave a weak point where water could get in.

 

The second option I thought of was chain, threaded through a bit of garden hose. The chain is there for strength, some excess chain can be left on the loose end to extend the chain as the tree grows and the hose is there to protect the tree from the chain. It should work, though I'm not sure how long the hose would last. I assume chain on its own would start biting into the tree after a while - which could damage it. Wrapping the chain in some other material may be better, but I'm not sure what else would be suitable.

 

The third option I'd thought of was some of that webbing material (similar to seat belts or straps on back packs), but I thought it would be too susceptible to fraying and deterioration from sun damage.

 

Has anyone here done a birdhouse tree hide?

[+lee737]

The best one I've seen uses a spring in the retaining straps, so they can stretch as the tree grows.....

 

[Darwin473]

8 minutes ago, lee737 said:

...a spring in the retaining straps...

 

That totally sounds do-able! Do you recall what the straps were like, meaning, what material they were?

[+lee737]

From memory I think the straps were wire, galvanised fencing wire or similar, but inside some rubber tubing.....

[+Ministro]

It’s great to see that you are asking questions and not just running out with a tek bit and a drill. It’s important that you allow the tree to grow and I’ve seen a number of different methods of this. 
 

- As others have said tire tubes work well. You can screw them into your bird box but be aware that they can deteriorate in sunlight over time

- I’ve seen a bike lock used that grips on the cable and can be loosened over time. 
- Chain or cable inside pipe placed loosely and monitored also works. 
- there are some great rubber straps (think ocky straps but fully rubber) that allow for expansion. 
- find a way to hang it as you described, this will ensure that nothing will constrict the tree. 
 

Good luck with your hide. 

[Darwin473]

On 10/24/2021 at 8:17 PM, Ministro said:

- Chain or cable inside pipe placed loosely and monitored also works.

 

Thank you for those tips, I hadn't thought of tyre tubes.

 

By "pipe" do you mean like the white pvc pipe used for drain and water pipes and stuff? Or some other type of pipe?

[+kunarion]

On 10/24/2021 at 5:27 AM, Unit473L said:

Hullo Aussie cachers!

 

I'd like to put a wooden bird house style cache in a tree but I'm not sure what the preferred method in Australia is for positioning in a tree in Australian conditions.

 

The first option I thought of was including a long wooden hook as part of the structure. Making the whole bird house easy to put in and out of a tree on a suitable branch. Even if the cache sits for months on end without being visited, it shouldn't affect or damage the tree. If this was done by extending the back up over the top, then that might leave a weak point where water could get in.

 

The second option I thought of was chain, threaded through a bit of garden hose. The chain is there for strength, some excess chain can be left on the loose end to extend the chain as the tree grows and the hose is there to protect the tree from the chain. It should work, though I'm not sure how long the hose would last. I assume chain on its own would start biting into the tree after a while - which could damage it. Wrapping the chain in some other material may be better, but I'm not sure what else would be suitable.

 

The third option I'd thought of was some of that webbing material (similar to seat belts or straps on back packs), but I thought it would be too susceptible to fraying and deterioration from sun damage.

 

Has anyone here done a birdhouse tree hide?

 

Is it a fast-growing tree?  I tried bungee cords (cloth-covered rubber ropes) at the top and bottom of my birdhouse.  It was strapped to a pine tree, and less than in a year, there were strap scars developing.  I repositioned the cords, then eventually archived the cache.  It was in a nature area, where Geocachers would allegedly be demonstrating how not to damage trees.  Just about anything tightly wrapped around the tree trunk would cause the same thing.  But the extent of damage greatly depends on the species of tree.  I have a rope wrapped around a vine in a park (the anchor rope for a cache that is lowered from a tree branch), and the vine "ate" that rope.  It's permanently embedded in the vine.

 

If I place a new birdhouse cache, I might try a hook over a strong branch as you mentioned, or more likely a wide nylon strap.  But the birdhouse is more subject to high winds than if it's secured to something.

 

Years ago, a cacher placed a birdhouse on a pine tree in a park where I have a few caches.  She screwed a stainless steel screw into the trunk.  That screw remains, and not only is it still secure and shiny like new, the bark is still healthy.  It's perfect.  I've been tempted to use that screw for a birdhouse cache, because it's "an existing feature".  I didn't install it.  So I could get a cache published, but there are no guarantees that the bark won't eventually die at the screw hole and make a nasty scar.  Plus, my intention is to demonstrate how to place a cache without screwing hardware into tree trunks.

 

So I've struggled to place a heavy tree cache box in a way that leaves no trace once removed.  Yet this is in the same park where park employees hung all their real bird houses from branches against tree trunks... using piano wire. 

[Darwin473]

5 hours ago, kunarion said:

Is it a fast-growing tree?

 

Much to my wife's dismay, I don't have a clue about vegetation - I wouldn't know the difference between a pine tree and a Pinto. I'll have to do some research on the type of tree I chose once I find a suitable location.

 

I like the idea of wide webbing, I'd been thinking of two - one over the top to hold the weight, one around the trunk to stop it swinging around. I do want to reduce the weight as much as possible, though it's a fine balance - too much weight will stress the tree, not enough and it'll bounce and swing in a light breeze...

[+Ministro]

12 hours ago, Unit473L said:

 

Thank you for those tips, I hadn't thought of tyre tubes.

 

By "pipe" do you mean like the white pvc pipe used for drain and water pipes and stuff? Or some other type of pipe?

More the clear plastic flexible kind you'd find at a nearby hardware.

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

I have always used Cable ties for trees but I keep them loose allowing the tree to grow. If they need adjusting I just cut the cable tie and replace with a bigger one or two looped together. For extra care towards the tree, I feed the cable tie through a piece of old garden hose. This ensures that the cable tie dose not cut into the tree over time.