All posts by David Pottinger

The Golden Gray Bridge

Events, People

2015-05-20_grays bridge 2s

Colin and Mavis Gray, after opening the new bridge

Cathy Holden writes:

Colin and Mavis Gray, of the Fleet Pond Society, came back from their holiday to a huge surprise recently. In recognition of their thirty year involvement with the Fleet Pond Nature Reserve and their forthcoming Golden Wedding anniversary, their colleagues on the Executive Committee decided to install a new bridge in their honour.

The mission took a lot of planning in order to keep it a complete secret from Colin and Mavis. While they were on a weeks’ holiday, the ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ volunteer team, under Project Manager Terry Austin, Vice Chairman of the Fleet Pond Society, moved in to construct the new bridge over the stream at Fugelmere Road.

2015-05-20_grays bridge 1

The plaque on the new bridge (click to expand)

Phill Gower, of local firm Cove Industries, constructed the framework for the bridge, and worked alongside the Fleet Pond Society team to help install it.

A surprised Colin said:

“Mavis and I feel very honoured to have a bridge named for us in celebration of our Golden Wedding Anniversary and as a thank you for our work for the Pond and our other community work. It was a totally unexpected surprise. We do not feel we deserve such a high tribute but it is heart-warming to find that our friends and colleagues feel we do.

Everyone involved kept it a very close secret, a remarkable feat in itself given how many took part in the planning and construction!”

Photo credits: Cathy Holden.

Ed. I will be publishing a series of photos on the construction of the bridge, which was very interesting in it’s own right, in a future article.

Fleet Pond Wildlife Day This Coming Saturday

Education, Events

68838 Wildlife Day Poster A4

Why not come along to the Wildlife Day at Fleet Pond this Saturday? There’s lots to see and do, for adults and children alike, and all in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Still undecided? Well, to get a flavour of the day, take a look at the photos taken from last year, see here. There’s more going on than you might imagine!

Fleet Pond Society (FPS) will have a tent and stall there, so if you’d like to talk to us about what we do or perhaps how you could get involved (we’re always looking for new volunteers), do call in and have a chat – you’d be most welcome!

A Photography Session At Fleet Pond

Photography

David Pottinger writes:

Liza Toth is a very talented local amateur photographer and has taken some very impressive shots at the Pond. You can see samples of her work here and here (see also the picture at the bottom of this article).

I thought it would be interesting to get Liza to talk through one of her photography sessions and here’s the result. Liza writes:

“Ideally, I like to be out before dawn, for the best pictures. One of the advantages of winter is that this is not such a great hardship, but getting out before dawn is a challenge as the days lengthen.

Accordingly, I was out in the late morning today, which means that the sun was too bright and the photography was more difficult.

20150428-DSC03436-01s

Of course, a compensating advantage of spring is that the babies arrive, usually starting with ducks and goslings, followed by cygnets.

20150428-DSC03419-02s
When I arrived at the Pond, mama duck was sleeping on the jetty, but the ducklings were quick to pounce on the duck and swan pellets that I tossed in the water. (It is only fair to pay for the photo session with a decent currency: pellets, not bread, which is bad for the birds and attracts rats!).

20150428-DSC03420-03s
I try to feed the birds carefully so that the swans do not kill the ducks: I make sure to put plenty of food out for the swans where they are congregating, as far away from the baby ducks as possible. While they are eating, I throw pellets to the baby ducks in a separate area, luring them far from the swans.

At one point, the ducklings walked onto the jetty and I fed them there. Here is a picture of them on their walk.

20150428-DSC03387-04s
During the course of the morning, other photographers also came out to the Pond. The baby ducks were getting all the attention, and the swans seemed a little put out.

After a while, a “new” swan appeared, being returned to the Pond by the Swan Lifeline Animal Rescue Service in Eton (their number is 01753 859397 if you ever see a swan in need of help).

20150428-DSC03542-05s

This particular swan had been at the wrong end of a fight with another swan, and was glad to be home. He celebrated by flying around the Pond several times.

Every month, I aim for at least one calendar-worthy picture of Fleet Pond. Last year, I sold a few Fleet Pond calendars and donated the profits to the Fleet Pond Society.

This will probably be the April picture for the 2016 calendar, one of the final shots of my photo session today (see below).”

20150428-DSC03549-06s

Many thanks to Liza for giving us some insights into how she goes about getting her pictures!

For completeness, here’s the shot that was the People’s Choice Winner at the FPS Photography Competition for 2014:

FPS Photo Comp 2014 Liza Toth

Photo credits: Liza Toth (please note that all the above photos have been reduced in size for publishing on the blog).

Chris Packham And A Tortoise Called Charles Darwin

Education, Events, People

_MG_5416_UL_Packham_medres

Cathy Holden writes:

“The Patron of Fleet Pond Society (FPS), the naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, opened a new science complex at the University of Lincoln on 14th April 2015 with the aid of a tortoise called Charles Darwin! The latter had been training hard in order to cut the ribbon by biting through his favourite Rocket and Dandelion vegetation (see pictures above and below, as well as the gallery here).

_MG_5410_UL_Packham_medres

Chris Packham has been appointed a Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln and will be teaching undergraduates on Zoology, Biology, Biomedical/Bioveterinary Science and Animal Behaviour and Welfare courses (see also the video clip below).

Professor Packham said: ‘If you really care for a subject, you should teach it and I am delighted by this opportunity to share my passion for wildlife and my experiences of some of the most urgent conservation issues we face.

I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to pursue a career in the areas which fascinate and impassion me. The future is in the hands of this generation and I hope to contribute to preparing them for this responsibility. There is simplicity in nature’s perfection and so much to learn. I am envious of the students at Lincoln who are embarking on that journey of discovery.’

Dr Libby John, Head of the School of Life Sciences, said:
‘We are delighted to welcome Professor Packham to the academic community at the University of Lincoln. At Lincoln we provide our students with a varied and engaging programme of scientific study. They have the opportunity to work closely with world class academics on research projects, engage in international fieldtrips and conduct a wide variety of project work. Professor Packham will bring a challenging and stimulating insight to our conservation teaching.’

Chris’s interest in wildlife was formed at a young age, studying kestrels, shrews and badgers in his teens and undergraduate days. After graduation, he began taking still photographs and trained as a wildlife film cameraman. His photography continues with exhibitions and invitations to judge prestigious competitions but the camerawork gave way to presenting.

In 2010 Chris was awarded the Dilys Breese BTO Medal for ‘his outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences’ and he is an enthusiastic supporter of many wildlife, conservation or environmental charities. He ran the hugely successful production company ‘Head over Heels‘ making programmes for Animal Planet, National Geographic, ITV and the BBC.

Professor Chris Packham officially opened the University of Lincoln’s state-of-the-art Joseph Banks Laboratories on Tuesday 14th April 2015. The same day he delivered his inaugural public lecture to around 300 students.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn4Fn-cpiyY&w=560&h=315]

The above article first appeared in the FPS Newsletter for Spring 2015. If you’d like to receive this, please consider joining the Society, we’re always keen on new members! Joining instructions are here.

Fancy A Picnic?

Uncategorized

2015-04-05_picnic area 2

Above and below are some pictures of the attractive and unusual carved wooden tables in the picnic area at Fleet Pond (see also map at the bottom of this post where the picnic area is indicated).

2015-04-05_picnic area 1

As you can see, there is wheelchair access.

2015-04-05_picnic area 3

In the picnic area there is a walk marker in case you’d like to explore the nature reserve further. Details of the three (colour coded) walks can be found here.

The picnic area is just a convenient short walk from the car park (off the A3014, as shown – there is a sign indicating Fleet Pond).

Why not give it a try?

If you have any comments on the facilities, we’d be keen to hear them!

fleet-pond-map-picnic-area