I’m no woodworker, but I’ll at least venture a naive guess and say birdseye maple. You said he’s got other chunks of maple, so maybe that was part of his maple stock?
I don’t think birdseye, but I considered quilted maple. I just haven’t seen it this reddish-orange before. Also, this has “fuzzy” textured areas that make me think more of a cedar like another person said.