Hart Residents Enjoy Wild Night at Hazeley Heath

On Saturday 28th of July at Hazeley Heath the countryside rangers had great fun running the Life Nocturnal walk. Nineteen brave members of the public joined us to look for bats, Nightjars, owls and moths on this heathland nature reserve.

With help from some moth experts we ran a successful moth trap, capturing some interesting species.  We heard male and female Tawny Owl, but unfortunately didn’t hear any churring Nightjar. This cryptic nocturnal bird loves warm, still nights and it may have been a little chilly for them even though we have two breeding pairs in the southern section that we heard churring only the night before!

A brilliantly camouflaged Nightjar on Hazeley Heath - photo courtesy of James Herd

                                            

We did pick up some echolocating bats however using our bat detectors; hand held devises that pick up the high frequency calls of these flying mammals as they hunt for insects. Pipistrelle, Brown Long-eared and Noctule were all heard as we wondered through Hazeley Heath in the dark.

For more bat walks, as well as more Hart Countryside Services walks and events please go to www.threesixfive.org.uk/countryside/guided-walks.

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.