Fleet Pond Winter Works 2010

Over the past few years, Hart District Council’s Countryside Service and Fleet Pond Society have been working on improving the wetland habitats around Fleet Pond. This work has involved clearance of trees and scrub to allow wetland plant species to flourish.
As a result of this work, the marsh and reed bed habitats have been restored in several areas, with rare species of plants and animals being recorded once again, some for the first time in 80 years!

Natural England has also upgraded the conservation status of the habitats from unfavourable to recovering. It is vital that this work continues to be able to achieve favourable conservation status.

This winter one HA of young secondary woodland on the edge of Coldstream Marsh will be felled in order to continue with our restoration work. Leaf litter and a layer of topsoil and plant roots will then be scraped off to expose the old seed bank of wetland plants. The resultant material will be banked up on the edge of the marshland. The trees that have encroached on the marsh over the years, shade out the wetland plants and reducing the biodiversity.
The area of young woodland is very low in biodiversity and has very poor wildlife value as it does not provide adequate habitat for birds, bats and other species that need trees. This work will allow the wetland plants to colonise once again and will ensure that a greater number of species can use this habitat.

Fleet Pond has a new ranger

Fleet Pond is managed by Hart District Council’s Countryside Service and
Tim Ackroyd is the new ranger for the Nature Reserve.

Quote: Tim Ackroyd says: ‘I have been working for Hart District Councils Countryside Service as a Countryside Ranger for over three years and previously worked as an assistant ranger for Hampshire County Council based at Yateley Common’. ‘I have enjoyed the experience of looking after a variety of interesting sites over the years and I am very excited to take on my new role as Fleet Pond ranger’

It is a very exciting time to be involved in the management of Fleet Pond. The Nature Reserve is undergoing some important changes over the next ten years with significant restoration of habitats and infrastructure. These changes will hopefully bring about considerable benefits, both for wildlife and for people.

New jetties installed at Fleet Pond

Hart District Councils Countryside Service has recently purchased 3 new fishing jetties for Fleet Pond. These have replaced 2 of the small old jetties on the northern side of the Pond which have deteriorated over the years. The third has replaced the larger jetty at Chestnut Grove. They were, installed by local contractors JDB, and are made from recycled plastic which lasts much longer than wood/metal, and is also vandal proof. There is also the small jetty next to Carnival Bridge which will be replaced in the not too distant future with the same materials.

Products made from recycled plastics have become widely available over the last few years, with many products including benches, boardwalks, signs and fences being used widely on countryside sites.

The jetties are used by many people at Fleet Pond; fishermen, children feeding ducks, birdwatchers, and people who just like to stop and admire to views of Hampshire’s largest freshwater lake.

Butterflies on Elvetham Heath

The Gate keeper (photograph taken at Elvetham- curtesy of Steve Bolton) is a common butterfly and emerges from mid-July onwards. They can now be seen in large numbers at the reserve. Their alternative common name is Hedge Brown and indeed they are commonly found along hedgerows.

The characteristic eyespots on the forewing probably deflects bird attacks away from the butterfly's body rather than startling away predators; the Gatekeeper likes to rest with its wings open and the eyespots visible.

The adult butterflies are especially attracted to yellow flowers such as Ragwort and also to bramble flowers. The caterpillars are typically brown in colour and feed on a variety of grasses.

Another common butterfly that is out at the moment in good numbers is the Common Blue, I saw this pair mating on a grassland ride leading up to the pumping station.

This species has two broods, the first set of adults are just starting to disappear in July, but watch out for a second brood flying around from August to September.

The caterpillar is small, pale green with yellow stripes and rather slug-like. These caterpillars like several other butterfly species are attractive to ants, which will take the caterpillar chrysalis from above-ground into their nests. The larvae create a substance called honey dew, which the ants eat while the butterfly lives in the ant hill. The larvae are attended and protected by ants while feeding on the host plant, and the ants receive sugar-rich honeydew in return.

Other butterfly species seen at Elvetham in late summer include the Red Admiral, Large White, Small & Large Skipper, Common Blue, Comma, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Meadow Brown, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

Fires on Hazeley Heath

The fires which took place in June and July on the Timpany Trust land of Hazeley Heath in the Parish of Mattingley have damaged 12 hectares of heathland habitat.


The breeding areas of Nightjar and Dartford Warbler have been burnt, and presumably their nests destroyed; many reptiles and insects have been killed.
Heathland summer fires burn extremely hot and will destroy the underlying heather seed bed.The lives of people and animals in neighbouring properties as well as those of the fire service are put at extreme risk.
Controlled burning of heathland in the winter months can be a valuable management tool. It can help to reduce the amount of old and large stands gorse and heather and can be very effective at promoting their regeneration, particularly as, unlike cutting, the burning may remove some of the organic matter that builds up under the stand. However, controlled burning needs skill to achieve the best results and to ensure that the fire does not get out of control. This method of management is not used on Hazeley Heath because of its fragmented structure and the proximity of surrounding properties.
One issue that arises from any burning is the management of new growth. Invasive grasses and bracken can take hold again faster than the new heather seedlings. Any new heather will grow back at a similar height, establishing a 'one habitat monoculture'. The heath will need to regain biodiversity, with plants of various ages and heights, and grazing is better than fire at achieving this.
The cause of the Hazeley Heath fires is not known yet and is still under police investigation, but most heath fires are started deliberately or accidentally, rather than naturally. People appear to be still ignoring the fact that it is against the law to have fires or BBQs on the heathland, and carelessness with glass bottles and cigarette ends can also cause fires which quickly get out of control.
If you do see a fire call the Fire Service without delay and keep well away from the fire - heathland fires can spread fast and the damage can take years to overcome.

Grazing Trial Update

Hazeley Heath is one of the largest surviving remnants of endangered lowland heath in the north Hampshire. Due to the rarity and importance of its heath land plant and animal communities, the site is designated by Natural England as a Site of Special Scientific Interest . It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) due to its breeding population of the internationally protected Dartford Warbler, Woodlark and Nightjar.
In 2007, after much public consultation, a management plan for Hazeley Heath was produced. One of the proposals was that a grazing trail should be established to evaluate whether or not grazing would be suitable in the future as a locally acceptable and sustainable approach to the management of the heath land. Grazing can have huge conservation benefits, and it is hoped that by putting cattle on the heath the desired mosaic of micro-habitats essential for maintaining the richness and diversity of the flora and fauna can be achieved.
The trial, which has received funding from Natural England and the SITA Trust Enriching Nature project, will run over a five year period and will be managed by the Hart District Council Countryside team under direction from the Hazeley Heath steering group.
Temporary electric fencing was erected in April around the two trial plots, one in the north (in Mattingley parish) and one in the south (in Hartley Wintney parish). Horse-friendly bridle gates have been installed at well used pathways into the grazing plot to provide continued public access. Part of the fencing will be removed in the winter months to allow greater public access.

The two small herds of local Belted Galloway cross Dexter cattle, which started grazing from mid-May, were removed from the trial sites at the beginning of July because of the risk to them from fires which destroyed 12 hectares of heathland nearby.

On July 26th, after the risk of fire was assessed to be minimal, a new herd of six Friesian cattle were released on to the southern grazing plot and have settled in well.

Blooming Marvellous

Several wild flowers are in bloom this month on Elvetham Heath LNR. The most noticeable is Common Centuary, the plant is compact in appearance and produces pretty pink flowers. These flowers are arranged in dense branches, each with a single, terminal bloom. It has a basal rosette of egg-shaped leaves, sometimes lying in pairs up the stem. It is typically found on dry, open ground, including Heathland.

Ox-eye Daisy is a plant most of us will be familiar with as it commonly grows on roadside verges. The name ‘ox-eye’ was given to Hera, the Queen of Olympian gods in Greek mythology. Early Christians dedicated this flower to Mary Magdalen which is how the name Maudlin Daisy originated and the name Dun Daisy arose from the flower being connected with the god of thunder. The stem is long (60-90cm), thin and hard with occasional branching along the stem. Each "flower" is actually composed of many hundreds of flowers or florets. The yellow centre, "disc florets" and the white edges are called "ray florets". The leaves are small with a rough toothed edge and those near the root are more round in shape with long stalks.

The Bee Orchid is back. The picture above is courtesy of Michelle Salter.This mysterious plant, which often turns up in an area in great number then disappears for several decades. Bee orchids have been recorded at Elvetham Heath on several occasionally over the last few years. The flower of this species is supposed to mimic a bee; a male bee will try to mate with the flower in doing so he inadvertently carries the pollen to another Bee Orchid flower. The species is self-fertile in Northern Europe and therefore is not reliant on bees for pollination.

Several other species are in flower, these include Heath Bedstraw, Selfheal, Common Ragwort, Honey Suckle, Scentless Mayweed and Bell Heather.