Fleet Pond tern rafts find a new home!

The two floating tern rafts at Fleet Pond have been restored and installed at Moor Green Lakes, recycling at its best!

Blackwater Valley Countryside (BVC) were commissioned by the Chairman of the Moor Green Lakes Group (MGLG) to assist the group with the restoration of the two rafts. The rafts provide several benefits for nesting terns over the existing Moor Green Islands namely; mink-proof fence, suitable small gravel, and mobile so easier to maintain by volunteers. At Fleet Pond the rafts have a proven history of being used by terns for nesting and preventing predation of chicks by terrestrial and aquatic predators.  The tern rafts were no longer needed at Fleet Pond as they now have had permanent islands built.

The restoration work was carried out by BVC rangers & volunteers, Merrist Wood students and volunteers from MGLG. A special thank you to Tony Elston and Chris Bean for leading the restoration of the rafts.

This was a great example of recycling tern rafts which were no longer need at Fleet Pond and installing them at Moor Green Lakes where they will provide a substantial increase in suitable breeding sites for terns. The approximate £400 of materials spent on both rafts represents a clear saving of around 75% of the cost of purchasing them new. The rafts were large and heavy which meant that loading and transporting them was a major undertaking. Also Towing out first finished raft the restoration took a surprising amount of time, with lots of fiddly work by volunteers at Ash Lock. This resulted in the tern raft restoration becoming a major project for Moor Green Lakes, with a large input of volunteer and staff time. Thanks to the efforts of all our volunteers we now have two great additions to the reserve.

 

Stuart Croft, Blackwater Valley Countryside Ranger. 5/3/2013.

Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership. www.blackwater-valley.org.uk Tel: 01252 331353

Clearing Holly at Fleet Pond

Jdb are clearing holly at Fleet Pond near the gelvert stream. This is for the new stream diversion. The new channel will take 1/3rd of the flow in high rain fall events (when we get lots of sediment in the stream) and it will meander through the woodland and join the ditch which runs through Coldstream marsh. This diversion slows the water down and hopefully allows the sediment to all settle out before it enters the pond.

Glade creation in Phoenix Green

The Hartley Wintney Conservation Volunteers have been working hard in Phoenix Green Common to create a sunny glade in this lovely woodland. They have cleared an area of mostly sycamore saplings either side of the path. This new glade will create a light, sunny and warm area to encourage a diverse array of beautiful wildlife such as the Speckled Wood butterfly and birds such as Woodpeckers and Treecreepers. It is important within a woodland ecosystem to have some open space to create these sunny pockets.

                                                                          Before

                                                                         
                                                                            After

                                                                         
The Hartley Wintney Conservation Volunteers are run by the Hart Countryside team every second Tuesday of the month. If you would like to get involved please email countryside@hart.gov.uk.

Cutting pines on the wet heath

Today the silwood park conservation group are out on the wet Heath at fleet pond cutting the pine saplings which are shading out the heathland plants. The wet Heath is a great habitat and lots of exciting species can be seen here including Adders, Ling and Bell Heather, Bog Asphodel and Bog Myrtle

Fleet Pond Easter Trail

Sunday 31st March (Easter Sunday) and Monday 1st April (Easter Monday) join us for an Easter trail around Fleet Pond. Drop in anytime between 10am and 2pm at the Fleet Pond picnic area and pick up a trail leaflet. Follow the trail around the pond answering clues and taking part in activities, and at the end receive an Easter egg. £3 per tail pack (includes Easter egg) For more information please phone the Hart Countryside Ranger team on 01252 623443 or email countryside@hart.gov.uk

Snipe at fleet pond

Common snipe at fleet pond. Much longer bill than jack snipe. When flushed they make a sharp call and fly in zigzags to confuse predators. In courtship they fly in circles and vibrate their tail feathers to produce a drumming sound this is called winnowing. The sound is similar to a goat and in some languages they are called flying goats.

Jack snipe are much smaller and when flushed fly without calling. They have a distinctive feeding technique bobbing up and down which is really funny.

The dredgers return

The dredging machinery has arrived back at the pond. They will be finishing the goose fencing on the remaining islands, dredge the area near sandy bay using the sand to fill in the holes in sandy bay and along the track next to the board walk. A sediment curtain will also be put in which will hopefully stop any silt coming in from the gelvert stream spread into the rest of the lake