Another Heath Fire
Printed From: Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK
Category: News
Forum Name: Latest News
Forum Description: articles & press releases
URL: http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4904
Printed Date: 16 Apr 2024 at 11:13am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.06 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Another Heath Fire
Posted By: Rags
Subject: Another Heath Fire
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 5:17pm
|
Local news carrying reports now about large heath fire in the area of St.Catherine's Hill, Christchurch. Sounds a big one. Not helped by the strong winds today. |
Replies:
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 5:44pm
| Is / Was a top reptile site...sad news. |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 5:48pm
|
A top site indeed. I visited last Spring and saw some great stuff. Local radio also mentions Sopley Common affected. This is a bad day! |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 5:55pm
| Sopley one of 'my' smooth snake sites - provided the original record of a gravid female in spring 2011. Saw around 50 sand lizards one memorable morning there a few years ago, too. I hope it's not as bad as my naturally pessimistic mind is thinking.. |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 8:47pm
|
Looks like 800m x 800m have gone up at St.Catherine's Hill. Can find no mention of Sopley now on the reports although it was mentioned on the radio reports this afternoon. Bournemouth Echo has photos on their site. |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2015 at 9:09pm
'Looks like 800m x 800m have gone up at St.Catherine's Hill' - that'll be 64 Ha of prime lowland heath, one of the world's rarest habitats, and it's not even April 1st yet...
|
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2015 at 7:08pm
|
I was late spotting your report Will let's hope the animals.were sheltering deep.keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2015 at 7:34pm
| I hope so Keith, but if they were then they'll emerge onto a barren landscape devoid of prey and full of predators... |
Posted By: Tom Omlette
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2015 at 9:56pm
|
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-04-01/heath-fire-the-size-of-100-football-pitches-was-deliberate/
|
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2015 at 1:28pm
|
April 2nd and this blaze still receiving a lot of publicity. Once again front page of the Daily Echo with a large picture of the site. Headlines read "After Devastating blaze wrecks precious heathland, now the hunt is on for the sick, mindless arsonists who did this..." Main headline reads "Scorched Earth." Hopefully going up to the site tomorrow to try and help. |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2015 at 2:24pm
| Well done - keep us posted! |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2015 at 6:06pm
|
BBC News website. "Two teenage boys are being questioned following a huge heathland blaze that caused "untold damage" in Dorset. Three separate fires were believed to have been started deliberately in St Catherine's Hill, Christchurch. An area the size of 100 football pitches - some 70 hectares (175 acres) - was destroyed on Tuesday. Police said the boys, aged 14 and 15, and from the local area, had not been arrested but were helping officers with their inquiries." |
Posted By: ChrisR
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2015 at 10:33pm
|
I have been up to St Caths today, it is very much devastated. This was my NARRS square 2 years ago and I know it well. I was so angry about it all as you can imagine. But on arriving at the site I soon found a grassie and an adder on the move and finished the day with an 'all 6' day finding 2 grassie, 2 adder, a smoothie, and 1 each of the 3 lizards. Cathy is battered and bruised but she will fight back. ------------- Chris |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2015 at 8:00am
| I admire your optimism Chris! thanks for updating us - what's the damage on the other - ie Sopley - side? |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2015 at 10:24am
|
I think Sopley was untouched after initial reports on the local radio that the strong winds were blowing it in that direction. Your old haunts appear safe this time Will. |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2015 at 1:27pm
|
Easter Sunday. https://flic.kr/p/rFfbmC" rel="nofollow">  https://flic.kr/p/rVxpKw" rel="nofollow">  https://flic.kr/p/rDvyyz" rel="nofollow">  https://flic.kr/p/rFgpG5" rel="nofollow">  https://flic.kr/p/rVxgQ3" rel="nofollow">  https://flic.kr/p/rDvqAv" rel="nofollow">  |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:08pm
|
|
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:19pm
This morning - Monday - was hot, and Common Lizards, Sand Lizards, Adders and Grass Snakes were active on the blackened surface, and vulnerable because of the lack of cover. The size of the burnt area is horrifying, but the blaze does seem to have skimmed only the top of the soil. Anything even slightly buried was probably unhurt. Only one burnt body was found, an adder's.    |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:27pm
Two more.  |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 6:08pm
|
@Ray - thanks for reassuring me about Sopley. Well done to all rescuers! |
Posted By: Rags
Date Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 10:23pm
|
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. |
Posted By: ChrisR
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 3:54pm
|
I was there too. Fantastic turn out and hundreds of reptiles re-homed. ------------- Chris |
Posted By: PondDragon
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 6:10pm
|
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? |
Posted By: GemmaJF
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 6:16pm
|
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. |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 6:37pm
|
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.
|
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 9:32pm
|
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 |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 10:18pm
|
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.
|
Posted By: GemmaJF
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2015 at 8:13pm
|
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. |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2015 at 5:54pm
|
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/12884849.400_creatures_rescued_after_devastating_heath_blaze_at_St_Catherine_s_Hill/
|
Posted By: Tom Omlette
Date Posted: 14 Apr 2015 at 6:11pm
|
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 |