This is a recent poem of mine, written because I was so upset at the pointless removal of this tree.

        THE NUTHATCH TREE

There was a special tree that framed the view

On the River Teign by the salmon pool

And for nine years I watched that tree

As it was home to a Nuthatch family

From the bridge was a perfect spot to stand

To see the nest hole with my camera in hand

And watch the hungry young as they grew

And the excitement when they finally flew

And then one day to my dismay

A man with a chainsaw came that way

He did not think or even care

And was completely unaware

Of those small lives enclosed in there

And now each spring in April or in May

I cry inside when I pass that way

I think of that nest in the tree’s safe hollow

And those future lives

That will now never follow

And all because a man for no good reason

Destroyed that tree in the nesting season

To cut down trees can be a crime

Especially during nesting time!