White oak with bark problem

[kboilers]

 I'm just starting to learn about the trees on my property.  I think this is a white oak and there are spots on the bark, where the bark is gone.  As you can see in the close up, some of the areas without bark have little holes in them.  The tree is good size – about 3 ft in diameter before it branches out about 12 ft up.  Does anyone know what this problem is? 

[beenthere]

From the pic, looks like it might be the beginning of some dead bark.
(maybe from an injury, or damage to the roots)

Bugs might be starting and wood peckers working to dig them out.
White oak will slough off bark and get that smooth look (but healthy yet).

How does the top of the tree look? Any dead areas, or branches?

Have the roots been covered over for any reason? like raising the ground level around them?

[WDH]

Dark spots on the bark of oak signal heart rot.  However, the spots in your pics do not alarm me.  It might just be some animal or bird like Beenthere said.  However, I am no expert on white oaks. 

[Ron Wenrich]

I know one logger that told me that white oak with patchy bark is wormy.  You won't see the worm holes unless you wet the end of the log down.  It won't make veneer. 

He used to also say that white oak growing in with pine or hemlock would be wormy.  I always trusted what he told me.

[SwampDonkey]

Gee I hope that ain't true. There are a lot of white pine, white oak mixed woods in NH, not exclusively the two species mind you. But, a high percentage in the Exitor area of NH we used to go to my uncle's cottage. That's where I brought home white oak seedlings from. I'm not thinking my oak is wormy, but the mature ones growing all over down there.