Checking the health of the pond

Every 2 weeks a member of johns associates can be seen on a boat around fleet pond checking the levels of oxygen and the clarity of the water during the works this information can then help us make decisions on whether the turgidity curtain (the long blue sausage across the lake) needs to be moved. The curtain stops any of the silts that are stirred up during the dredging moving across the lake . There is another turbid out curtain on the outflow this stops any silt going out of the pond and into the little pond outside the heron on the lake pub.

By monitoring the oxygen and clarity we can also look at the effects of the dredging on the fish. Luckily the results so far are showing the sediment is settling out quickly during the works and the works have already created some clear water.

Grass snake on fleet pond

All our reptiles are now getting ready for hibernation over the winter we spotted this one outside the rangers station probably looking for a nice warm place to spend the winter

Dwarf gorse in flower at Hazeley Heath

The dwarf gorse at Hazeley Heath is in full flower at the moment and it looks great. Dwarf gorse is quite rare but we are fortunate enough to have a lot at Hazeley.

Redpolls at fleet pond

Lesser redpolls and siskins can be seen and heard in large numbers around fleet pond at the moment. They are small finches that mainly breed in Scandinavia and spend the winter in the UK feeding on alder catkins. Due to a poor year there is a lot less food for the birds in Scandinavia this year so the birds have come over to the uk in large numbers and a lot earlier. So while walking around the pond have a look out for large flocks of finches feeding on the alder.

Marsh and reedbed restoration

While walking around Fleet pond you will see that we have been carrying out not only restoration of the pond with dredgers but also in collaboration with the fleet pond society and many volunteer groups we've been clearing the scrub and reeds in hemalite reedbed (by the train station) and clearing scrub in Coldstream marsh ( near the picnic area).

This scrub and reed clearance is really important for the Wildlife at fleet pond. Reedbeds are a successional habitat and if left unmanaged they will scrub over the trees will dry out the reedbed, drop leaves which will compost and enrich the ground. Eventually the reedbed will be completely lost and replaced by poor quality woodland.

However we are clearing the encroaching scrub and removing it from the site this will allow the reeds to grow back strong healthy and dense this provides a great habitat for lots of wildlife including reed warblers

Dredging at Fleet Pond is in full swing

The dredging is going really well W M Longreach (contractors) have created 6 new islands already!