Hi all

Millers Ark have taken the two cows, Melody & Magnolia, off of Woodlane Heath at Fleet Pond this afternoon. So that's it for our conservation grazing this year.

A big thanks to everyone who has been a looker this year on all our sites, hope you can help again next year, we will be in touch, have a great Christmas.

Frog on fleet pond

Weeding birch saplings on the dry Heath

Today the countryside rangers Louise and Rachel are on fleet pond with the Hampshire conservation volunteers weeding the birch saplings on the railway wood (by boathouse corner) This is a really important job as the birch spreads over the Heath enriching the soil and shading out the heather. By clearing the birch saplings we give the heather the best chance to recolonise.

Also on the pond the fleet pond society are working alongside the fleet lions to clear the scrub on the old de havillon launch site

The access track and jetty is nearly complete

Along with the new access track from the main car park to boathouse corner
we have also installed a new jetty at boathouse corner.

Further stages of dredging involve the silt being removed from the pond in
dumper trucks and transported to a dewatering site.

The jetty will allow the diggers to easily drive on and off of the pontoons
and provide a great spot to view the pond, feed the birds and fish from.

The new access track is permanent and will allow access for dredging in the future when maintenance works are needed.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused for more information please contact
countryside@hart.gov.uk or phone 01252 623443

Water Rail on Fleet Pond

The Water Rail on Fleet Pond have had a great year. While walking past the North East marsh (between Boat house Corner and Coldstream Marsh) you will be able to often hear the water rails calling to each other. They have a very distinctive call which is often explained as a squealing pig. Next time you are down by the pond have a listen to one of the most elusive birds on the pond. 

Water rails are related to Moor hens in the rail family and have large feet and long bills for catching small fish and invertebrates in the water. The are very secretive birds and will prefer to scuttle off through a dense reedbed than fly.

See you around the Pond

Louise Greenwood
Fleet Pond Countryside Ranger
Hart District Council

New track at Fleet Pond

A new track is currently being fitted at Fleet Pond from the main car park off cove road to Boat House Corner. This track is integral to the next phase of works to allow silt to be extracted from the Pond.

There will heavy machinery in the area over the next month. Please follow any warning signs and instructions, sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

An eerie Halloween walk around Fleet Pond

The Halloween walks around Fleet Pond on Tuesday night was a great success!  We had a great turn out with 25 people in assorted costumes including a skeleton, a pirate and a ghost.  We started off in the main car park off cove round and walked down to boathouse corner with each person holding a green glow stick it created an eerie trail.

At boathouse corner we listened to an interesting story about a recent ghost siting and then played pumpkin bowling which involved knocking down corn on the cob pins with a pumpkin.

We walked around the pond which is very scary at night time listening to the creatures that come out at night.  While walking around we heard the tale of the young lady who fell in the pond and played several other games including...

The Monster Mash (halloween version of musical statues)
Musical Pumpkins (halloween version of musical chairs)
Witch hunt (a scavenger hunt for witch cut outs)

It was a great day for everyone.  We can't wait until next halloween, where we are going to do pumpkin carving :)

Our next activity is our Christmas Wreath Making Workshops which are on Saturday 8th December and Sunday 9th December 10am - 12pm, 2pm - 4pm and 6pm - 8pm

To find out more information and to book your place please visit www.threesixfive.org.uk/countryside/guided-walks