Fleet Pond Accessible to all

Countryside Ranger Rachel met this lovely lady at the weekend who was testing out the Fleet Pond footpaths for mobility use, and loved the easy access to the Jetties and pathways. A great place to enjoy watching the ducklings and signets 

Blondie

Blondie the White duckling at Fleet Pond is doing really well thanks for the photo Vicki.

Labyrinth Spider

We found a Labyrinth spider at Edenbrook Country Park. They are a fascinating they build their amazing webs in long grass. They get their name from the shape of their webs. At one end there is a funnel shape and then further down the funnel is a labyrinth of tunnels.

Hidden in the centre of the labyrinth is the egg sac containing all the developing young.

The females remain with the young until they are ready to leave the web. Sometimes they die before the spiderlings go, and in this case the young will eat their mother.

Small Copper

Found this beautiful small copper today they are a great butterfly. They have metallic orange scales. The larvae feed on sorrel and dock they don't eat the whole leaf but just a groove on the underside leaving a transparent area in the leaf. They are really fast flying butterflies I like them because they have lots of character.

Fleet Pond Anglers

Ranger Louise and the Fleet Pond Anglers were out at the T jetty fishing out all the rubbish. we've brought a net this time to get all the broken glass thanks boys you are doing a great job! 

Wow check out this swan mussel. We have found quite a few with mussels inside so we've thrown them back

Fishing Jetty

Rangers Duke and Rachel and apprentice rangers will and izzy have done a great job with this fishing jetty. They have ripped out the old railway sleepers and replaced them with nice new ones and put nice footpath surfacing down.

Feed the birds

Fleet Pond looks great today the the sun is out and the young geese are begging for food. Please try and not feed the geese bread as not only is it not good for the geese, ducks and swans also any that isn't eaten adds nutrients to the pond and won't help us with our aim for encouraging plants to grow in the water. Swan and duck food is available to buy in the pet shops in Fleet.

Fleet Pond Totem Pole

The totem pole at Fleet Pond is finished it had lots of wildlife that you can find around the reserve around it how many can you find?

Footpath resurfacing at Fleet Pond

The footpath between the fleet pond main car park and the picnic area looks fantastic hopefully no more trip hazards 

Pine cones

Tracking wildlife at Elvetham Heath LNR this pine cone has been eaten by a grey squirrel. We know this because the scales have been neatly stripped to get at the pine nuts inside and just the core is left. Crossbills and woodpeckers also eat the nuts inside pine cones but the scales on these pine cones often have very ragged edges where they have been jabbed. Can you find both types?

Dog Poo

This week rangers Louise and Rachel will be joining the Hart Dog Warden Lynn Byfield and Apprentice Dog Warden Jazmine patrolling Fleet Pond and Elvetham Heath Local Nature Reserve. We will be looking for dogs not under control and offences under the Hart dog fouling order. We will be putting out posters and secret cameras to catch offenders. Dog poo bags are free from the Hart District Council, Civic Offices, just ask to reception.

Sandy bay is getting a makeover

This afternoon JDB contractors will be moving the sand piles at Sandy Bay, Fleet Pond and putting it along the track beside the boardwalk to level it out.  They will be using a 13 tonne excavator to move the sand piles :D.  The sand piles were put onto sandy bay in the last phase of dredging to dry out until it could be used along the boardwalk.  Hopefully this work will allow us to get vehicles down to sandy bay for maintenance, make Sandy Bay look much nicer and stop the boardwalk getting flooded in the winter.  Any sand which is left over will be spread out over sandy bay and fluffed up to make the beach all nice and ready for the summer holiday picnics :D

Lots of juveniles

There are lots of juveniles around at Fleet Pond this morning. Many have just left the nest including this robin. Young birds grow their first feathers really quickly as they are at most risk when in the nest so need to get out quick. Once the birds have left the nest over the first few months they start their post juvenile moult. Most birds only moult some of their juvenile feathers. The robin will moult out his spotty breast feathers and greater covers but will keep its primaries until after breeding next summer.

Silver Studded Blue Butterfly

Popped to Hazeley Heath yesterday and there are lots of Silver Studded Blue Butterflies flitting around the heather. They are a UK BAP species (Biodiversity Action Plan) they are quite rare and are often found on heathlands as they feed on heather. Hart has a Biodiversity Action Plan which can be found on the biodiversity page of the hart.gov website.

The old Fleet Pond bank

The far bank at Fleet Pond between the pond and the main car park off cove road is the historical edge of the pond. Fleet pond was drained during the war to avoid being used as a landmark by German bombers, Virginia water was also drained. While the pond was drained the army used it as a training ground. The original pond levels were not regained so the ancient pond edge is now not used

Colour ringing the terns and gulls at Fleet Pond

Yesterday we went out onto Clearwater island to colour ring the Common Tern and Black Headed Gull Chicks. This is part of a wider project including birds from Moor Green and Hosehill lakes. Local bird watchers are very important in the project as any colour ring sightings are really valuable as then we can produce maps to show where they go to fish, how far they travel, how long they stick around at fleet pond after fledging and do they make it back next summer to breed on Clearwater island and join their parents in the colony? Common terns spend their winter in Africa and some can travel upto 8000 miles each way they are an amazing long distance migrant. Some of these common tern chicks could travel 16000 miles to South Africa and back before breeding next summer on Clearwater island now that's amazing!

New picnic benches at Elvetham Heath Local Nature Reserve

Yesterday we installed 2 beautiful new picnic benches at Elvetham Heath nature reserve by Tundry Pond. The benches have been carved from thick pieces of oak from National Trust properties by Will Lee the chainsaw carver from the fleet pond wildlife day. The benches are carved with tawny owls, deer, dragonflies and butterflies can you spot them all?

Broad oak common biodiversity day

Just finished counting up the species from the biodiversity day we recorded 202 species which is amazing in just 4 hours + moth trapping. Thank you so much to everyone involved we had a great day! Highlights included hobby, brown hawker, grayling, greater knapweed, common lizard and white legged damselfly :D

Puffin Island

Had a bus mans holiday this weekend and took a trip to Puffin Island to ring Cormorants, Shags, Razorbills, Guillemots, Puffins, Herring Gulls and Greater Black Backed Gulls. One of the cormorants ringed on Puffin Island as a chick turned up at Fleet Pond this winter with a beautiful green ring on. If you see a ringed bird and can either read it through binoculars or take a close up photo please report the information to www.ring.ac

The old Fleet Pond bank

The far bank at Fleet Pond between the pond and the main car park off cove road is the historical edge of the pond. Fleet pond was drained during the war to avoid being used as a landmark by German bombers, Virginia water was also drained. While the pond was drained the army used it as a training ground. The original pond levels were not regained so the ancient pond edge is now not used

Odiham Armed Forces Day

Senior Ranger Steve and Apprentice Ranger Will had a great time at the Odiham Armed Forces Day on Saturday. They took the Countryside Gazebo, owl pellets and virtual pond dipping game that was really popular with the kids

Fleet Carnival

Fleet Town Centre looks great with all of the bunting up for Fleet Carnival this weekend look out for us. Ill be driving the float for Hart Leisure Centre handing out beach balls, hats, water bottles and lots more! Hart Ranger Rachel will be joining the Fleet Pond Society on their float which is amazing (top secret) you'll have to come along and see the precession see you on Saturday! Ranger Lou