Whilst climbing, rigging and lowering large sections of timber from UP a tree DOWN to the ground is fairly routine business, it's not every day that the opportunity to hoist large chunks of timber UP the tree from the ground comes along... In fact, it'd be fair to say this was a first! 🤔
Here we have a large section of timber with a partial hollow which, prior to the tree's failure, had been home to a colony of bats. The tree was dismantled on the ground and removed but this section was retained with the hope of it being utilised as a future bat roost.
Whilst the timber lay on the ground a family of Jays, making good use of the natural cavity as a secure nest, took up residence which meant a delay until they had fledged and departed.
With the des-res currently 'between owners' the opportunity was taken to get it hoisted and secured in an appropriate spot in a nearby tree.
This presented a very different set of challenges from the usual dynamic loading and controlled lowering of large heavy sections of timber. In this case, careful selection of the top winching point was imperative to facilitate the smooth passage of the timber on its journey up through the canopy - most notably, against rather than with, the forces of gravity!
And then the issue of manoeuvring such a big lump into a suitably selected resting point and securing it within the tree - quite difficult moving such a large lump around in the canopy of the tree whilst dangling from a rope and harness.
It is hoped that the bats will pick up the scent of the former colony and take up residence again.
An unusual, challenging and interesting task - hopefully it will prove worthwhile and will provide a safe and secure bat roost for many years to come...