It feels wrong to tear the limb off of an oak tree I so enjoy but what if he has a small branch with multiple succulent acorns buds and leaves I could take home to photograph and document. My camera is heavy I don’t wanna take him everywhere. If i take the branch back to my place I could photograph all of the things over like cloth with lighting or something and it would be cool. And I wouldn’t need to bring my camera for better photos then from my iPhone. Please forgive me if I am asking to commit ecoterrorism I want to check with others to make sure I don’t go to super naturalist hell. and also forgive me if my age comes through in this post I am merely 17 and obsessed with oak trees I must treat them well……… STEAL from them….. yes….
3 Likes
I can appreciate your enthusiasm for oaks! A couple of concerns for removing a bow or limb of an oak to document off-site:
-
Many diseases of oak trees (esp. oak wilt, etc.) are spread through wounds on branches which are accessed by fungal-spore-carrying beetles or other disease vectors.
-
What if a lot of observers made the same choice as you and wanted to take just one small branchlet off of that tree (e.g. in a park or preserve along a trail)? What would the potential combined impact be?
My suggestions for workarounds: Get a suitable, lighter camera for field work, and/or upgrade to a newer iPhone. The latest iPhones have excellent capabilities for documenting every detail you’d need to properly identify oaks, down to and including the hairs on the underside of the leaves, the fuzz on the inside of an acorn cap, etc., etc.
In summary, try not to disturb living organisms any more than absolutely necessary for iNat purposes and try to meet your research needs by adapting your equipment.
17 Likes
ooooo those are great concerns. Those oaks are always catching diseases and generating evil spots on their leaves. And I did not factor in other peoples possible robbery. I’ve been eyeing this little phone thing that makes your phone zoom or something like those super zoomy lenses some cameras have that cost one thousand dollars. however it is like thirty dollars so I don’t know how effective that would actually be. I will purchase it anyways and if it fails me I will sell it for profit. maybe
4 Likes
I haven’t much to add to gcwarbler’s excellent reply, just wanted to say how absolutely fantastic it is that you’re asking these things at the start of your journey to discover nature. Oaks are amazing and the older they get, the more fascinating they become, genuine ecosystems in miniature. If you haven’t read it already, I can thoroughly recommend the book “Being an Oak: Life as a Tree” by Laurent Tillon which follows the life of an oak tree from when the acorn falls to the ground. It is a great read, really absorbing, combining nature, history, ecology and emotion. Can’t recommend it enough. If you think you might be interested, take a look at this review.
Last but not least, can I ask what camera you’re using? Yes, cameras can be heavy and long lenses can be expensive, but there may be alternatives… and if you think this is the start of something that could develop over time, it might be worth examining your options thoroughly before investing in iPhone accessories that may not fully satisfy you as your interests evolve.
6 Likes
Depending on where you are, it may be illegal.
2 Likes
One suggestion for getting a closer view of tree parts and stuff living on them – go out after a storm or a really windy day and you can often find pieces that were knocked down. If there’s a lot of squirrel activity in an area, it can also be a good place to look for nipped off pieces.
6 Likes
I use my moms camera due to being 17, cannon mark IV and by use I mean I’ve tried to use it three times and every time was close to my house and I sucked at using it and it was heavy. Fun fact in one of my observations you can see my phone on the ground to the side with instructions on how to use the camera open!
1 Like
I’ve noticed when driving around to various forests/place away from my home have a lot more convenient branches on the ground full of oak leaves and buds to identify and sometimes even acorns but there’s never any branches in my woods. I know there’s oak trees in there I’ve taken photos of like fifty of them but I never find any branches on the ground
1 Like
Oh my, a great camera, but that is REALLY heavy, particularly if you add a decent lens 
and pretty tricky if you’re using it for the first time. I can see why it would be a struggle. If it doesn’t cost you too much, your idea of getting a zoom lens for your phone as a trial seems like a good one, but I’d hate for you to be disappointed. The important thing is, if your phone pics don’t satisfy you, don’t lose heart. There are a ton of alternatives available which weigh considerably less than your mum’s Canon, are WAY easier to use and needn’t cost a fortune, particularly on the secondhand market where you can pick up some real bargains these days.
1 Like