Reed bed recovery could take 18 months
35 firefighters tried to save RiverTay nature site
The country’s largest animal conservation charity has said the River Tay reed bed devastated by a massive blaze spanning three square kilometres could take up to 18 months to recover.
RSPB Scotland added that the native bearded tits population could take two years to recover, with marsh harriers and water rails also significantly affected.
As many as 35 firefighters fought for nine hours on Monday to tame the inferno that engulfed the nature reserve along the banks of the Perthshire river.
The emergency effort was aided by Errol-based aircraft pilot Guy Stephens, who volunteered his own helicopter to battle the flames after spotting it from his kitchen window and dumped 77,000 litres of water on the towering flames.
Despite the heroic interventions to stop the fire, the damage done is expected to have a lasting negative impact on the nearby wildlife.
A RSPB Scotland spokesperson said: “The reed bed habitat should recover within 12-18 months.
“The speed of the fire will mean that the underground rhizomes (root systems) should have survived intact.
“The standing reed which burnt will have been mainly from previous year’s growth with only small shoots from this year’s growth above ground.
“That said, growth this year will be significantly impacted. Next year the growth could be vigorous due to the massive nutrient input from the ash.
“Bearded tits will have been impacted and any nests will have been lost. Research has shown this is quite a significant nesting area on the Tay.
“Some adults may have been able to disperse from the affected areas and may renest in what suitable habitat remains.
“Having adapted to live within reed beds, which are naturally dynamic habitats, bearded tits have evolved to cope with boom-and-bust years and on the Tay they can have up to four broods a year.
“However, with the loss of key breeding and feeding areas population recovery may take , one or two years.
“Marsh harriers will have been incubating on their ground level nests and any nests in the fire area will have been lost. They will not relay and so this year’s breeding will be lost.
“This is significant for a species which takes several years to reach breeding age and only has one brood a year.
“With the low numbers present in the Tay area, and the fact the species is at its northern range limit, this event will have significant impact.
“Water rail, which is another important species in the reed bed, will have been severely impacted. They are not great at dispersing and their secretive nature relies on the continuous dense habitat of a reed bed.
“They will have two broods so may attempt to relay in what suitable habitat remains.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 11.46am on Monday, April 27 to reports of a reed bed fire near Errol in Perth.
“Operations Control mobilised six appliances to the scene, along with a number of specialist resources, to extinguish the fire, which was spread across an area approximately three kilometres by one kilometre.
“At its height, 35 firefighters worked to make the area safe and crews were at the scene for around nine hours.”
Carse of Gowrie ward councillor Beth Pover added: “I’m really sorry to hear that hundreds of rare birds are under threat, particularly at this time of year when so many birds are nesting.
“I hope this, as one of the largest protected reed bed reserves in the UK, recovers soon.
“My thanks to the fire service who attended and successfully contained the blaze to prevent human loss of life.”