Dartford Warbler @ Fleet Pond

While carrying out ringing at Fleet Pond today we caught a Juvenile (3J) Dartford Warbler in the North East Marsh.  Only 8 juvenile Dartford warblers were ringed last year in the country. It would be interesting to know where the nest was (Fleet Pond/Bramshill?)

This is probably the first Dartford Warbler to be recorded around Fleet Pond!
This small warbler is resident in the UK and has s declined in numbers quite a lot in the past few years due to the harsh winters . Its population crashed to only a few pairs in the 1960s. It will perch on top of a gorse stem to sing.  A ditinguishing feature is the bright red eye ring and it has a long tail.

Hi,  The Forester Moths are out on Odiham Common ! Friday afternoon I found five males in three of the southern meadows walking from the underpass to Colt Hill Wharf towards Bagwell lane, to the east of London road.

The Ragged Robin is very weather beaten but some moths were on it near Bagwell lane and others were on Knap weed, which is just coming into flower. If you haven't seen one before Forester moths are day flying metallic green / blue moths. This is only one of two sites in Hampshire where they occur and they are brilliant to look at.

The Wildflowers of Elvetham Heath

Ranger Duke is doing a wildflower walk around Elvetham Heath on Saturday 19th May.  Email countryside@hart.gov.uk or phone 01252 623443 to book your place.


If you'd like to join our mailing group and receive emails about events and guided walks happening in the Hart area Please email us on countryside@hart.gov.uk

Countryside Walks with a sporting theme twist!

The Countryside walks with a sporting theme twist were a great success!  Despite the weather many people turned out out the 5 walks during April to the various Hart Countryside sites.

Over 150 people came to Fleet Pond Local Nature Reserve on Easter Saturday for a fun Easter event hosted by the Hart Countryside Service rangers.  It was a great family day out following the self guided nature trail to find the trivia boards, answer the sporting and nature themed questions before being given an Easter egg.

Louise Greenwood, Hart Countryside Ranger says, “It was a great day and brilliant to see so many people of all ages enjoying Fleet Pond”. The Rangers also set up a viewing telescope so anyone on the day could see the nesting herons on Heron Island. It was a wonderful experience for everyone there to see our heron colony on this beautiful nature reserve.

Check out our events calendar on www.threesixfive.org.uk for details of many more celebrating in 2012 events!

Fleet Pond Easter Trail on Saturday 7th March

Just a reminder the Fleet Pond Easter Nature Trail is on Saturday 7th April.  Drop in any time between 10am - 2pm (last walk starts at 2pm.  Meet us in the Fleet Pond Picnic area (this will be signposted from the main Fleet Pond Car park)

£2 per Quiz pack - take part in the Easter trail quiz and receive a Cadburys Easter Egg.

The new islands are providing a great habitat for wildlife already

Wading Birds have found their way to the newly created islands at Fleet Pond

3 Lapwing have been seen using the islands for the past few weeks.  The islands are regularly littered with a variety of birds including Herons, Swans and Geese.

On Sunday we were very lucky to spot a Dunlin feeding on one of the new islands.  They are a wading bird and use their beak to prod the soft mud and find tasty invertebrates such as worms.

5 islands created so far on Fleet Pond

The Fleet Pond Restoration Project is going really well! We are coming to the end of the first phase with works starting on the 5th island this week.

So far the diggers have deepened the centre of the lake and used the sediment (mainly sand and clay) to create central islands. These central islands will create a windbreak, in order to reduce the wave action across the lake which stirs up the silt and makes the water murky. This “turbidity” prevents light from reaching the lake bed, so plants can’t grow.

The dredging equipment is leaving Fleet Pond on 31st March. They will return in August to continue the Fleet Pond Restoration Project

The dredging must stop during this period to avoid disturbance to the nesting birds and infringement of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The Fleet Pond Restoration Project has only been possible with the funding from our partners. Hart District Council has raised funds through Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship grant of £173,000 & their Water Framework Directive (WFD) of
£142,000; Environment Agency WFD Grants of £100,000 as well as funding approximately £100,000 through developers contributions.

For more information about the Fleet Pond Restoration Project Email Countryside@hart.gov.uk