Hunting Bow Wood - A birds eye view

This morning, I noticed a song sparrow flitting about the ground. He was hopping about randomly or so it might appear at first look. I saw the sparrow pick up a piece of dry grass and then discard it. Aha! Shopping for nesting material this sparrow was. I watched a while longer while the sparrow skipped about the ground, his head swiveling from side to side, pausing to eye a particular piece of dry grass or small twig, some he added to a small but growing collection he kept in his bill.  Having exhausted the available materials of premium pieces or perhaps having reached a carrying limit for his bill, he took flight and disappeared around the corner of the house. Just a minute later I looked out the back door to see a pair of western scrub jays inspecting and testing medium size twigs from a small bush in the garden. They were snapping off from the bush favorable twigs and dropping them to the ground to be picked up several at a time. The spring-like weather has got the birds a build'n.
This collecting of nesting material includes quite a lot of careful looking. I don't think I had appreciated this aspect of bird nest building before, but now, as a seasoned bowyer who has harvested quite a bit of bow and arrow wood, I could see clearly the care in which the material was selected. Both the song sparrow and the scrub jays would tilt their heads, lean in, or even hop closer to a potential piece of home building material, and then, always a pause in their otherwise hurried movements before either picking it up or moving along in the search. Simply picking up a twig did not guarantee it would be brought back to the building site. After rapidly milling the twig over in the midpart of the beak, it was either discarded cleanly or kicked back into the stack of keepers at the back of its bill. Once they had a full load of material, they flew off with the calculated determination only a creature building its home seems to carry. To an outside viewer, the scene of a modern-day bowyer selecting his bow wood from a myriad of forest sticks, must appear to carry a bit of lunacy with it compared to the nest-building bird. I imagine though, that if we were able to jump back in time 10,000 years and view one of our ancestors selecting bow wood, in a time when a good bow held the importance of a good home, we might find a character whose demeanor is indistinguishable from that of the sparrow building its nest.

 Originally, watching these birds inspired me to write an article that provided how-to information on selecting your own bow wood. But as I start in on that task, I realize that there are so many variables when taking into account the tree species, local environment, desired bow design and the bowyer's experience, that it becomes an impossible task to provide any meaningful generalized instruction on the topic, so I will just throw out some basic things to consider if and when you decide to start cutting and curing your own bow wood.Keep in mind that the best way to learn is through experience.

Learning to identify your native and local invasive trees is a rewarding process. Books and apps are useful, but nothing beats following around a knowledgeable naturalist through the woods. A notepad is more useful than a camera here.

Learn where your target tree grows.  What habitat or other trees is it associated with? 

The moon phase matters. Humans have long recognized that wood cut in the dark phase of the moon is more stable in its seasoning. 

Not all wood is the same:

Some woods do not tolerating violation of the edge grain, such as osage, and must be split out, while others can tolerate a good deal of run off and so can be sawed straight out of a tree with slight twist to the grain.

Be mindful of your maul and ax when splitting, as the back is easily damaged by a wayward strike. Likewise, take care when trimming branches with a chainsaw from a trunk round. 

Some woods check very easily and others do not.

It always looks better in the woods. It pays to be very picky upfront, as the wood never looks as good once it is home and cleaned up.

Moisture needs to be lost, not too slow, but not too fast.
Wood in the round will dry too slowly.
Wood immediately reduced to bow dimensions after cutting will dry too quickly.
In dry conditions avoid exposing the wood to high airflow.  In damp conditions, good airflow is necessary.

The way the tree grows matters. A leaning tree has more tension strong wood on the upside and more compression strong wood on the downhill face. Generally, the tension side makes better bows.

Billet length sections of trunk are much easier to find than full length sections.

Wood boring insect larvae and fungi are your two biological enemies, oh and and teenage boys looking to stoke their bonfire.

Sometimes it is best to keep the bark on, and others it is best to remove the bark. Tree species and your local drying conditions determine whether the bark should be removed and back sealed or not.

Gawking at potential bow trees while driving on primary roadways is a real hazard. 

Searching for good bow trees s often easier during the winter months when the leaves are on the ground. Identifying trees can be difficult for the beginner when the leaves are missing, but it is much easier to see through the subcanopy in the winter. You can cover a lot more ground with your eyes this way.

A GPS unit is not necessary, try your skill at roaming the woods without navigation assistance. The nature of inspecting trees along your search makes landmarking natural and enjoyable.If you discover a good patch that you need to return to later, even years later, dont fret over your lack of flagging or GPS, good bow-wood patches and their precise location have a way of planting themselves in your memory.

Cutting bow wood with friends is fun and exciting. Cutting bow wood with family is rewarding and memorable. Cutting bow wood unaccompanied by anyone but the forest itself is mystical and enchanting.

The Jays leftovers after snapping the twigs off from the shrub above. A prudent bowyer does not bring everything he cuts home.

This is the sparrow's gathering grounds. A nice patch of varying tiny twigs. The surrounding lawn offered little in comparison to this patch the sparrow was searching. Patchy distribution is the norm when it comes to searching out bow wood. Finding the good patches is what it is all about.