Clearing rubbish in front of the T Jetty

Today we were out with the Fleet Pond Anglers clearing rubbish from in front of the big T jetty at Fleet Pond. We cleared out lots of stuff that filled 2 trailers including a flood sign, crutch, 2 tins of spam, glasses, logs, concrete bollards, hubcaps, and traffic cones. The boys did a great job thanks for all your hard work now hopefully the anglers won't get their lines stuck on the rubbish :D

The chicks have hatched on Clearwater Island

We went out to the islands today and the Common Terns and Black Headed Gulls have hatched :D the tern chicks have a white front and the gulls are brown and spotty

Crabtree Bioblitz

Yet all set up at the Crabtree Bioblitz in Basingstoke we are doing a bird ringing demonstration :D just set up the nets and the sun has come out fingers crossed for a kingfisher :D if you are nearby pop in there are lots of stalls, meet the scientists and guided walks all day follow the signs off the A30 :D

Fleet Pond Restoration Project wins ICE Sustainability and Environment Award

Fleet Pond Restoration project just won the Institute of Civil Engineering Sustainability and Environment Award

Coldstream marsh

Coldstream marsh is looking great at the moment lots of common blue butterflies, common blue damselflies, birds foot trefoil, pill wort and lots more

Cygnets

A family of swans at chestnut grove :D

Tidy up at Elvetham Heath nature reserve

The hart ranger team are out at Elvetham Heath nature reserve today. Senior ranger Steve is on the tractor moving woodchip for the Basingstoke and dene grounds maintenance team to use on the flowerbeds around turners pond. Assistant senior ranger Leigh and Ranger Louise are out strimming and blowing the footpaths making them look nice and clean

Jays nest

Yesterday we checked the jays nest and the eggs have hatched and there are 3 beautiful chicks inside :D only around 5 jays nests are reported to the BTO (British Trust of Ornithology) every year. This jays nest is at Fleet Pond. If you would like to find out more about nest recording or get involved visit www.bto.org for more information.

Nightjars at Hazeley Heath

On Wednesday night we went out bird ringing on Hazeley Heath and caught 2 nightjars a male and a female. They are amazing birds. The male has a bright white patch at the tip of his wings for display. They have a huge mouth which they use to scoop up lots of insect when they fly around at night. They are ground nesting birds and completely rely on their camouflage for protection. The male we ringed last year which is great data as he has travelled all the way to Africa and back to Hazeley Heath to breed, hopefully for many more years to come.

Spotted Heath Orchid

Lots of Spotted Heath Orchids at Hazeley Heath by the boardwalk at the bottom :D

Southern Marsh Orchids

There is an amazing display of Southern Marsh Orchids at Elvetham Heath Nature Reserve near the M3 :D

Stag beetle at Fleet Pond

Yey the rangers just rescued this lovely male stag beetle from drowning in Fleet Pond :D

Forester moths out on Odiham Common

Found my first Forester moth of the year on Odiham Common at 8am this morning on Ragged Robin. These are very beutiful day flying emerald green moths. The Common is only one of two places in hampshire that they live.  Ranger Steve

Stag Beetle Larvae

We winched over this tree at Hartley Wintney Central Commons with the help of JDB who brought one of their old tractors to do the job. We did this because of health and safety reasons. This tree is really important for stag beetles and other creepy crawlies so we have left the tree as it is full of Stag Beetle larvae.

Bug hunting

Had a great evening with the 8th Fleet Brownies bug hunting at Fleet Pond. We were comparing species from 2 different habitats. The girls found lots of species including 2 wood ants nests and cinnabar moths :D

Hunts common community orchard

The wildflower meadow at hunts common looks great lots of oxeye daisies and yellow rattle. Yellow rattle is a really important plant in wildflower meadows as it is hemiparasitic getting its nutrients from grasses which restricts them and allows the wildflowers to grow.

Elvetham Heath village fete

Ranger Duke and apprentice ranger Will had a great time at the Elvetham Heath Village Fete at the weekend the virtual pond dipping game was really popular

Odiham Common Wildlife

Whilst on the common this morning  I spooked a Woodcock on the southern meadows near the cattle grid on the B3016.

Also the Ragged Robin is in flower so the Forester moths will be out very soon, fingers crossed, as long as we get a few warm, dry and not too blowy days.

Common spot orchids are starting to flower in the gas main ride at the southern end ot the common.

Nearly all the paths and rides on the common were mown last week and any trees blocking them removed.

Enjoy your walking and riding, the common will look its best over the next month or two.   Ranger Steve

Cattle at Hazeley

Very happy cows eating birch at Hazeley Heath :)

Great Spotted Woodpecker Nest

While out with the Brownies yesterday we found this Great Spotted woodpecker nest  the chicks are just about to fledge so they are sticking their heads out of the hole calling for food. You can tell the age and sex of a great spotted woodpecker by the colour on its head. Chicks just after they fledge the nest have a bright red head. Once they have done their postjuvenile moult females have an all black head and males have a black head with a red stripe at the back

Black headed gulls

This is a black headed gulls nest. Slightly more substantial, the nest is made out of reeds they usually have about 3 eggs. There are 17 black headed gull nests on the gravel island. We will hopefully go out and colour ring the chicks in the next couple of weeks. Using colour rings will allow us to easily identify them from a distance and we are more likely to get reports of where they have been so we can produce an awesome migration map. Black headed gulls spend a lot of time moving around Europe. It'll be interesting to see where the fleet pond gulls go!

Tern nests

We went out o. The boat yesterday to monitor the Black headed gull and common tern nests. Unfortunately during the high rainfall a couple of weeks ago their nests were washed out. They have now moved onto the gravel topped island which is slightly higher so less prone to getting flooded and the stones provide a great background for they're beautifully camouflaged eggs. This is a Common tern "nest" they make a scrape in the ground and lay their eggs on the gravel. There are 4 nests on the island. We will hopefully go back in a couple of weeks and colour ring the chicks