Moors infernos a wildlife disaster
RAGING fires which swept across swathes of moorland in Lancashire, Yorkshire and the Derbyshire Peak District, have caused one of the biggest wildlife disasters in more than 10 years.
Thousands of nests and eggs of nesting birds are feared to have been destroyed in blazes - many of them started deliberately - and untold damage has been done to animal and insect life and vegetation.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says that nests of species such as short-eared owls, merlins, red grouse, meadow pipits, skylarks, twite and curlews will have been wiped out.
And ecology experts are already warning that it could take years for parts of the landscape to recover. In some areas damage is irreparable.Rhodri Thomas, ecology services manager for the Peak District National Park Authority said: "The danger is that once vegetation is removed - particularly on the higher moors - erosion starts to happen very quickly. In some parts the peat has been completely burned away to reveal the bare rock beneath.
"There is a natural balance which if upset causes untold problems to bird and animal life, not to mention a huge array of insect life."
Particularly at risk is the mountain, or blue hare, which lives among the moorland heather of the Peaks. It is home to the only English colony and concerns are that the animal will have lost both its natural food source and shelter.
The Peaks are also a stronghold for the striking green hairstreak butterfly and the emperor moth, which feeds on heather.
Rare plant life which has perished includes cloudberry, a sub-arctic bramble, which thrives on moorland peat bogs. Mr Thomas said: "It can take years for moorland to recover from fire damage."
The National Trust is running a birdwatch on its High Peak estate on Bank Holiday Monday - May 5.
Special monitoring sheets will be available from selected car parks and local public transport stations from 9am on the day.