Aspen? Beech?

[sandsawmill14]

Yes, it's American Beech.

x2  can tell by the way missing limbs are healing over for 1. at least i have never seen anything else that look that way also that big one growing against the small one in center of pic will not be sound (at least if it was around here) i saw a lot of beech today i sawed about 2400 bdft of it. far as the birch it has really thin flaky bark almost like paper and normally grows in bottomland and creek banks around here. i am quite a bit south of you though so timber may be a little different.

 

birch bark

[SwampDonkey]

I also live in PA, and that doesn't look like beech to me...but my tree ID skills are poor, I'm just a beginner...but I've seen plenty of beech, and none has looked like that...but they have all been much larger, which can make a difference... I had an aspen? I had a tree come down I'm my yard, nearly sure it was aspen, possibly quaken aspen...but it was darker and less "peely"... Some of the pics scream birch, but the leaves do not? Just lookin' to learn...

Don't confuse it with blue beech or muscle wood.

[WDH]

Look at the buds.  They are distinctive in beech. 

[isawlogs]

American beech....  hêtre.  :P

[BEEMERS]

Definitely Beech..Im in middle of Lower peninsula MI and that's an exact match for our beech..Not even close to Big tooth Aspen or..anything.. but Beech