Fire damages important wildlife area on the Dee Estuary

Fire damage 

Firefighters were recently called out to tackle a blaze on the RSPB Dee Estuary nature reserve which damaged an important area for nesting birds and wildlife.

Thankfully the fire was quickly brought under control and caused far less harm than the previous incident of this kind in 2013 which was started deliberately and destroyed a large swathe of Neston Reedbed and spread to Parkgate Marsh.

However, the incident has raised repeated safety concerns from RSPB staff as arson attacks on the site have been an ongoing problem for a number of years. Due to this, the RSPB operates a wardening scheme with volunteers patrolling the area, on the lookout for any inappropriate or potentially damaging behaviour.

Colin Wells, Site Manager at RSPB Dee Estuary nature reserve, said: “This is a stark reminder of how vulnerable the reedbed and its surrounds are at this time of year. The last few weeks have been relatively fine and combined with periods of strong winds, the conditions on the marsh have become brittle and dry, which meant the fire would have started easily.

“We have a team of volunteers who warden the area in the evenings to try and discourage people from starting fires, which has successfully prevented any for a few years. It was the fast action of one of these volunteers on Saturday evening to promptly raise the alarm and allow the fire to be extinguished quickly before too much damage was done.”

The RSPB are concerned about the damaging impact the blaze may have had on local wildlife living in the affected site, particularly harvest mice and nesting birds.

Colin added: “The harvest mice have lost their habitat and many of them may have been injured or killed. The area is an important breeding ground for birds such as reed buntings and water rails. They have lost their nesting areas.  It’s devastating as we work so hard to create and maintain this site for wildlife and people to enjoy.

“We would benefit from having more volunteer wardens to help keep an eye on the reedbed area in spring, so if any local residents are keen to help protect this special wildlife habitat, get in touch with us at Burton Mere Wetlands.”

Police are treating the fire as a potential arson case. Anyone with any information is asked to call Ellesmere Port and Neston Neighbourhood Policing Team on 0845 458 6373.

To enquire about the volunteer warden opportunity, email deeestuary@rspb.org.uk or telephone 0151 336 4932. For more information on the reserve and its activities, check out the website rspb.org.uk/deeestuary

Mice to make homes in tennis balls at RSPB Dee Estuary thanks to local club

Harvest mouse in vegetation.   Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)ption

One of Europe’s smallest mammals has been given a helping hand by staff at the RSPB’s Dee Estuary nature reserve – thanks to a kind donation from a local tennis club.

Since the discovery of an empty harvest mouse nest, found during recent grass cutting, alerted reserve wardens to the fact these tiny creatures are living on the Cheshire site, the team have been getting creative with an unlikely source - old tennis balls - to help give nature a home.

Harvest mice are not common this far north, so the team were interested to discover how many are living on the reserve and in which areas. Being tiny and secretive creatures, it can be difficult to survey their distribution, but thanks to an idea to use tennis balls as homes for the mice, the reserve staff will next year be able to gain a better idea.

Alasdair Grubb, warden at the RSPB’s Dee Estuary nature reserve, said: “Sadly harvest mice numbers are falling in the UK due to changing farming practices and other pressures on our countryside, so we were delighted to discover they had made a home at Burton Mere Wetlands and were eager to find out how many and whereabouts they were living.

“Tennis balls might seem like an odd solution, but it’s actually a trick that’s been used with balls from Wimbledon for years. So, I contacted the tennis section at Neston Cricket Club and enquired if they would consider donating any of their used balls.

“The club coach, Dan Stickland, was more than happy to help and provided 35 old tennis balls for me to drill a hole in and put around the reserve in suitable locations; which means next summer I’ll be able to revisit each tennis ball and see whether it has been used as a nest.

“As well as allowing us a means of surveying the numbers, the tennis balls also protect the mice from predation and bad weather, and provide extra homes by giving them chance to nest in areas where there might be ample food, but not quite the right conditions.”

Despite this helping hand, unfortunately visitors to the reserve are still unlikely to see these cute little creatures due to their shy behavior, but there are still plenty of reasons to visit Burton Mere Wetlands at this time of year, most notably for the vast flocks of ducks, geese and swans settling in for the winter.

For further information on the reserve and its activities, please call the reserve on 0151 353 8478 or check out the website www.rspb.org.uk/deeestuary.

One of the tennis ball homes created for the harvest mice, made by the team at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, and donated by Neston Cricket Club. Alasdair Grubb.