the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles |
|
Another Heath Fire |
Post Reply | Page <123 |
Author | |
Rags
Senior Member Joined: 04 Dec 2011 Location: Dorset Status: Offline Points: 133 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Well wouldn't you know. Two of us from the forum out on the same site today without even realising!
It was great to see so many people giving up their bank holiday to help reptiles. ...and a weird thing, seeing an adder against an all black background makes you realise what beautiful snakes they are. |
|
ChrisR
Member Joined: 28 Mar 2012 Location: Bournemouth Status: Offline Points: 32 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
I was there too. Fantastic turn out and hundreds of reptiles re-homed.
|
|
Chris
|
|
PondDragon
Senior Member Joined: 15 Jul 2013 Status: Offline Points: 55 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Possibly a silly question, but would there be any merit in adding a substantial number of artificial refuges to the burnt areas to provide cover for surviving reptiles (and other species)? Perhaps concentrated around known hibernation areas, or used to create semi-continuous corridors of cover to enable movement between e.g. hibernation, breeding and feeding areas, and linking areas of surviving habitat.
Possibly the cost/time involved would be prohibitively expensive. I was thinking about maybe small brushwood / dead-hedge kind of piles, rather than felts/tins - perhaps transporting material onto the site would just be too awkward. Regarding the 'rescued' animals - are these just being moved to unburnt areas of the heath, or being moved elsewhere entirely? |
|
GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Artificial refuges may be of limited use as they generally work best with a bed of vegetation under them. One could try putting hay under them, we did that on a site once and worked well enough.
|
|
Richard2
Senior Member Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Status: Offline Points: 285 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
That's an interesting idea. I don't think I am expert enough to judge, but I'll venture some thoughts. In giving protection from predators, artificial refugia might be a useful stopgap, but they would not nourish the community of invertebrates the animals need to survive for any length of time. And the cover the refugia provided would be isolated. Crossing the burnt ground from refuge to refuge would still be dangerous. So these refugia would only buy a bit of time in which more animals could be captured and moved.
I was there again this morning. Again, the weather was perfect, but there were many fewer animals in evidence. Perhaps that is encouraging, though the populations must have been a lot larger than the numbers that have been caught. Very few Smooth Snakes and Slow Worms have been seen. Perhaps these animals have not yet come out of hibernation. Most are being released in the undamaged parts of the heath. Some of the Sand Lizards will be kept for the captive breeding programme, I am told.
|
|
Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
I would also say if refugia are decided upon, then make sure they're in places where the public is less likely to walk. This makes for a lot of carrying work but does mean they are less likely to be moved, chucked away or just generally messed about with.
|
|
Suz
|
|
Richard2
Senior Member Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Status: Offline Points: 285 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
These are the official figures.
Monday 140 common lizards Today We managed to catch
and relocate 11 common lizards, a grass snake, an adder and finally a smooth
snake; only the second that we have caught in the whole operation. |
|
GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
I would have thought placing ACO with hay under might improve the number of slow worm and smooth snakes rescued.
Seems to be a correlation to both species being more fossorial in nature than the others to the capture rate, rather than a reflection of species status onsite?
I have literally hundreds of ready cut Onduline ACO in store at the moment. If anyone can pick them up from Essex I would be more than happy for them to be used in the rescue. |
|
Richard2
Senior Member Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Status: Offline Points: 285 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/12884849.400_creatures_rescued_after_devastating_heath_blaze_at_St_Catherine_s_Hill/
|
|
Tom Omlette
Senior Member Joined: 07 Nov 2013 Location: Stoke on Trent Status: Offline Points: 449 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
well done everyone involved in the rescue effort. i know its been a really terrible time but you should all be very proud of what you have done.
tim |
|
Post Reply | Page <123 |
Tweet
|
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |