Snags are Valuable for Wildlife

Snags are standing dead or dying trees and are used by many species of wildlife. Almost 100 species of North American birds nest in cavities. The snag in photo #1 is high above Scott's Branch near the trail.

Woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters; in other words, they excavate cavities in dead trees or in dead branches in live trees.

Chickadees are secondary cavity nesters which re-use cavities excavated by primary cavity nesters in previous years.

photo credit: snag: Donna Brunet. Used by permission. All rights reserved. woodpecker: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. chickadee: Jocelyn Anderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

source: Texas Master Naturalist Alamo Area Chapter; https://txmn.org/alamo/area-resources/natural-areas-and-linear-creekways-guide/importance-of-snags/