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The hills are alive ...
FOR much of the last three years, one of the Borders' most iconic views has been marred because of a fire which swept across the middle of the Eildon Hills on a hot, dry night back in May 2006.
The north face of Middle Eildon was left blackened and scarred, while hundreds, if not thousands, of nesting birds and chicks perished as four acres of heather and gorse went up in flames.
Around 50 firefighters from Melrose, Galashiels, Selkirk, Lauder, Kelso and Hawick, together with 15 staff members from Buccleuch Estates – which owns the Eildon Hills – battled the blaze that lasted through the night.
While sporting estates often conduct controlled burning to allow growth of the new heather that is much favoured by grouse, the Eildon fire of 2006 was not welcome because it was uncontrolled and came at the worst time of the year for local birdlife.
However, anyone casting a glance towards its slopes recently will have noticed the purple streaks of the new heather which has sprouted up on the charred ground.
This week, TheSouthern met up with Andrew Brough, estates manager with Buccleuch Estates, grouse keeper Stuart Davie and deer stalker Steven Gray to get a closer look at how nature has now overcome the effects of the blaze.
Andrew explained that Buccleuch Estates does not carry out controlled burning on the Eildon Hills as it does not permit shooting over this location.
"The hills' value lies in their amenity value for local people to visit and enjoy," he said.
"Buccleuch Estates has operated a policy of open access for about 30 years and the Eildons are an area of outstanding natural beauty, and an important wildlife habitat that should be kept intact for people and wildlife to share.
"Our worry was that the fire might have seen the heather destroyed completely and the exposed shale left behind permanently.
"There's never been a definite reason uncovered for the fire. There is a thought it was a piece of broken glass, a discarded cigarette or portable barbecue that was the cause. That summer was very hot and dry, so the flames quickly spread."
Recent weeks have seen several small outbreaks of fire on the Eildons, but nothing on the scale of 2006.
Stuart added: "Fire is a natural thing. It clears the ground of older growth and allows new growth to flourish. Heather seeds can lie dormant in the soil for 40 or 50 years, but the fire of 2006 saw the heat trigger their germination.
"While a fire can have benefits, it can also be devastating if it comes at the wrong time of year and is allowed to burn uncontrolled.
"We weren't sure how many grouse lived on the Eildons because there had never been regular counts, simply because we don't shoot here.
"But during the fire I often saw pairs of grouse flying through the smoke and there were more than I thought there would be. It was a bit surprising because there are also so many foxes up here it's amazing any grouse were able to get a nest away. The sad things is there must've been a great many birds that lost nests and young in the fire – not just grouse but songbirds as well."
Andrew, Stuart and Steven spent between three and four days on the hill making sure the fires did not reignite, as a major concern was that if it spread over the top of Middle Eildon, it could reach a block of forestry on the lower slopes.
"When you do controlled burning, you do it in 50-yard strips, not huge areas like this all at once," said Steven.
However one good thing to come from the blaze is that the north face of Middle Eildon now has a variety of heather when it comes to age – some short, some medium and some long growth.
"There's plenty of young heather growth which is what the grouse like best," said Stuart.
And Andrew added: "We all need to look after the Eildons when we come here. They are one of the iconic features of the Borders."
Buccleuch Estates manager Andrew Brough (right), Stuart Davie, grouse keeper (left), and deer stalker Steven Gray survey the heather growth rate on Middle Eildon after the 2006 fires.Photograph: Alastair Watson
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Weather for Galashiels
Thursday 24 May 2012
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