Finding a hollow?
Finding hollows in trees can be tricky. Sometimes what you think is a hollow turns out not to be a hollow and vice versa. Many hollows are also hidden from view on the ground. All you can do is try your best. Using binoculars (if you have them or the zoom of your camera) scan up and down the tree. The hollow could be in a dead or partially dead branch sticking out at an angle, it could be in a live branch or it could be in the trunk of the tree. Be careful of lumps or depressions in the tree that may appear at first to be an opening, but on closer inspection, are not actually a hole in the tree. The best thing to do, before you choose your hollow, is to have a good look around at a few trees and try and spot the hollows in these different trees. This will give you a bit of an idea of what types of hollows are there. Once your eyes are trained, you’ll be noticing hollows everywhere! It is likely that you will notice additional hollows within a tree, please also assess these hollows within the reporting form. Please note that the aim of this project is to assess all hollows, so look twice for smaller hollows. If you know of a hollow that is already being used by wildlife, it is ideal to include.
