Hi Maroondoor and welcome to GoY. I am not aware of there being any specific rule about the cutting time of trees. At this time of year, at least in Scotland, the deciduous trees are all free of leaves so it is extremely unlikely a bird will be nesting in them; they do nest in the evergreen hedges and are already doing so. I would also be surprised if a bird every nested in a Torbay palm.

Certainly the field hedges here are not cut during those dates, usual pruning times for deciduous trees is november to march as that's the dormant time

On a practical note, if you cut decidous trees in summer then you have all the leaves to deal with as well as the timber. In winter the leaves have fallen off and blown away. I am not aware of any national ruling on this but Southwark Borough may well have their own by-laws. Check with the Council.

i.e. Outside March to August inclusive) to avoid any conflict with nesting birds

so far as I am aware no such legislature exists in Scotland.

I'm told trees should be pruned in winter while dormant. They have a better chance then of a good recovery. It is also less work, as Bulba says.

I agree much easier to prune trees in winter but I am not aware of any legislature that states they may not be pruned from March - August. Indeed plum trees need pruning early.

As much as anything, its dependent on the variety of tree - Acers, for instance, should be pruned after the 1st of July up until around Christmas, and not at any other time.

Torbay palm is usually Cordyline australis - what kind of pruning did you want to carry out on it? If it involves cutting or sawing into the main trunk, April is the best time for that.

As for Lime, we talking citrus lime or Tilia?

I have an idea that no tree should be pruned during bird-nesting time but I'm not sure if that's an actual 'law' or just being mindful of the birds. We have a problem at the moment with trees that desperately need pruning but, due to the mild weather, the birds are already sitting on their nests here (Derbyshire) so we've missed the boat (much to my husbands annoyance!).