As many of woodlot owners are aware, the consumer demand has significantly increased the value of birdseye over the past decade. Birdseye is a prized wood for artisans and fine furniture makers, and is used extensively in high end products such as a dashboard in Rolls Royce automobiles. As a result, birdseye maple has provided an economic boom to the northern hardwood timber industry.
Although it has long been treasured by furniture makers, very little is known about birdseye, from its geographical range to what exactly causes it. Birdseye is normally found in sugar maple but its not limited to this species. It has also been found in other trees, including Norway and Red Maple, Yellow Birch, White Ash, Black Walnut and American Beech. Early observations though it was caused by birdpeck, others believed it was a function of adventitious buds. Although the exact cause of birdseye is not known, there is one thing for sure, it does command a high price.
How to Identify Birdseye
There are three ways to determine birdseye sugar maple. Due to the inconsistent nature of birdseye occurrence within a tree, it is very difficult to guarantee the quality and distribution of figured wood. Birdseye figure may be present on one side of a log but not the other, it may be found on the first log but not the second log and vice versa. A tree may birdseye in varying degrees, too much or not enough birdseye may add very little to the value of a log, or it could actually downgrade the log value.
Stage 1: Visual Exam
A careful look at bark's surface and general tree form may be useful to determine the presence of birdseye. The 'Coke-bottle' form in the lower bole has been noted as a possible indicator. However, not all Maple will exhibit this form and some diseases of Sugar Maple may cause a bole form that imitates the 'Coke-bottle' form.
Stage 2: Removal of Outer Bark
The second method requires the removal of outer bark to further examine for birdseye. This step requires the removal by hand. Look carefully at the outside pieces of bark for indentations and internally on the stem for bumps. If the birdseyes have just begun to form these bumps may not have formed yet.
Stage 3: Removal of the Bark Layer
The final method is to remove the other and inner bark. This provides the most conclusive evidence of the presence or absence of birdseye; it does however damage the tree. This stage should only be used on standing timber immediately before harvest or harvested trees. The exposure of the living tissue to pathogens can result in decay and lost log value. Birdseye maple will appear as indentations in the wood and can range from small dimples to indentations of half inch or more in diameter.
Birdseye may bring more than 40 times the value of comparably graded non-birdseye timber. Recent prices have reached $50,000 per Mfbm for prime logs (US). The oversight of not including birdseye maple in a timber sale can result in a substantial financial loss for the woodlot owner.
For more information on how to identify birdseye, please refer to the following publication; Field Identification of Birdseye in Sugar Maple (Acre sacrum marsh.) Resource paper NC-317. St Paul Minnesota, USDA, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. (16 pages.).
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