2023-06-02 15:31:36
The Hautes Fagnes burned at the worst time: just when the birds were nesting. Some species build their nests on the ground. These nests have been completely destroyed, with their eggs or chicks already hatched. However, all is not lost. Some of these species could spawn a second time this year.
The black grouse did not suffer, but other species did
Don’t worry about the emblematic bird of the Hautes Fagnes, the black grouse; there were none in the burnt area. But other species were nesting there at the time of the fire. “I saw with my own eyes the birds very excited as they approached the flames” says René Dahmen, head of the Nature and Forests cantonment in Elsenborn. “The fire was approaching their nests and we knew very well that these nests were going to be destroyed.
Birds that know how to make a second brood will do so this year. The shepherd’s wheatear [tarier pâtre ndlr], the larks too, but the season is already advanced. Even the specialists could not guarantee us that there would be a second spawning.
Many species are very faithful to where they nest. They come back every year. Next year, they will return to their habitat partly as it was. There will be a little less bushes.” And a little less birch… which had to be cut anyway to keep the space open. The fire spread over 155 hectares, but the helicopter flight shows 20 to 30 hectares of enclaves spared.
The plants will grow back quickly, reassures René Dahmen. The fire did not destroy their roots. If the weather is not too dry, in a month and a half to two months the grassy areas will be green again. For the moors, it will take one to two years before they regain their normal appearance.
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