Enjoying A Lunchtime Walk From The Business Park

During the recent brief good weather spell (well over a week ago now), we took the opportunity of continuing with the Fleet Pond Visitor Survey. Here are some photos from this lunchtime activity.

A Nice Place To Walk The Dogs

Taking A Lunchtime Break From Work At Dimension Data

Cycling To Work Via The Pond

Visiting From Yateley And Enjoying The Bird Life

Many people remarked that the link bridge (pictured below) made a big and very much appreciated improvement in accessibility!

At the current stage, we have conducted 135 interviews covering 222 people and logged over 500 visitors for the same period.

This is good progress, especially considering the poor summer weather.

If you have any immediate thoughts on the survey, please leave a comment below – we’d be delighted to hear from you!

We are planning on posting a formal visitor questionnaire on this blog shortly, in case there is an interest in responding this way.

Rachel Jones (Ranger) With The Huge Pike

You never know the sort of things you’ll come across at the Nature Reserve – Rachel Jones, our Ranger, recently found this huge pike washed up dead at the Pond.

A local lady who walks the pond daily wandered by with her dog, and after a gasp of amazement, rather liked the fish and her name is Susan Pike!

The sad side is that it was an old fish, famous for having one eye. In fact Steve Lyons, Senior Hart Countryside Ranger, remembers it being caught a number of years ago.

I’ve always wondered what’s in the murky depths of Fleet Pond, so now I have a better idea!

For additional information on the fish at Fleet Pond, please see here and here.

Susan Pike (Visitor) With A Namesake

Many thanks to Rachel for the info and photos.

Map of Fleet Pond, Detailing The Locations Mentioned Below

Peter Martin writes:

Although over 30 different species of butterfly have been recorded at Fleet Pond, some may not be easily seen as they tend to stay in the areas in which they bred.

Westover Road – Speckled Wood

Where the path starts at the end of Westover Road towards Wood Lane there are patches of bramble which, when in flower, provide a good nectar source for the Speckled Wood. This is a butterfly that likes areas dappled with sun and shade and it is most noticeable when settled on bramble with its wings wide open. As it has several generations, it can be seen from March until September.

Wet Heath – Graylings and others

On the Wet Heath opposite Wood Lane, one or two Graylings may be seen from July until mid- September. Their camouflage is so great that if they settle on a Silver Birch trunk they will be very difficult to spot.

Continuing along to the bridge over to the Ministry of Defence land and then walking along the path towards the field will possibly allow you to see Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals at any time from late June until August. Although not actually part of Fleet Pond Nature Reserve, the path provides a good opportunity to see these and other butterflies nectaring on the plants there.

White Admiral

The Field – Skippers and others

When you reach the field in July and August Large Skippers, Small Skippers and Essex Skippers will be buzzing around. Their flight from grass stems to nectar sources makes it very difficult to follow them but once settled they will pose nicely.

During July and August, on the bank of bramble, the Gatekeepers will be nectaring. There may also be Meadow Browns, Speckled Woods and other butterflies enjoying the feast. Some of these species will also be found on the Dry Heath, which is situated between the picnic site and the car park. You might also get a glimpse of a Small Copper in May or again in July and August, as this butterfly has two broods.

Boathouse Corner – Small Heath

Along the path leading from the car park towards Boathouse Corner I have sometimes seen the odd Small Heath which has two broods in June and August/September. In the grassy area the other side of that path (adjacent to the railway line) there are usually lots of Gatekeepers in July and August.

Orange Tip

The butterflies that I have mentioned are summer-flying ones but in the spring I have found the path from Avondale Road to the Brookly Bridge particularly good for Orange Tips. These and other butterflies, unlike the other more sedentary ones mentioned in this article, fly longer distances and may appear almost anywhere.

A version of this article was originally published in the Fleet Pond Society (FPS) Newsletter for Spring 2012, which is available to members of the Society.

If you would like to join FPS, please see the ‘Joining FPS’ page above.

Further information on butterflies at the Pond can be found in Peter’s series of posts on this blog: see the overview here.

Picture credits: White Admiral and Orange Tip.

PS Late June Update

Whilst preparing this post, I noticed a newspaper article on how the recent bad weather has been affecting UK butterfly populations, see here.

Some of Britain’s butterflies and moths are experiencing a terrible season because of the unrelenting wet weather, experts said yesterday.

Butterflies such as the marsh fritillary, the black hairstreak, the common blue and Britain’s most endangered butterfly species, the high brown fritillary, are all in much lower numbers than normal, said Richard Fox, surveys manager for the charity Butterfly Conservation.

The situation with moths was even worse, Mr Fox said, with only tiny numbers being found in moth traps.

His colleague Mark Parsons said: “It’s probably the worst spring and early summer ever for moths.”

Butterflies and moths suffer in cold and wet weather because they mate and feed less regularly. The warnings came as Met Office figures showed that June is set to follow April as one of the wettest months on record in the UK.

Terry Austin (FPS) and Rachel Jones (Ranger)

Here’s some interesting background on Rachel Jones, who you may have seen busy at the Pond over the last few months:

Originally a local lass from the Odiham area, Rachel has lived in New Zealand for 9 years. Since returning to the UK, she has worked as programme manager for a busy young persons outdoor centre. Rachel then decided to turn her diploma into a BSc and is now in her second year as a student at Sparsholt College, studying Wildlife Conservation.

Having done her work placement with Hart Countryside Services and volunteered with the team, she was given the opportunity of a 6 month role as seasonal countryside ranger to help the team with the many tasks at this busy time.

Rachel says ” I love working with Hart Countryside Services and Fleet Pond Society on the great variety of tasks. It’s a real pleasure to be part of the team looking after this area.”

A Fish Found Whilst Going Round The Pond (see picture above).

The Visitor Survey Taking Place Near Chestnut Grove

Above and Below – The Visitor Survey At The Pond Car Park

At this event we initiated a survey of visitors to the Pond. We started with two high-usage locations: the car park and near Chestnut Grove (see the map in the About page above for further details).

The feedback was very positive!

The data gathering will continue over the next few weeks at a variety of locations so that a balanced assessment can be made.

The objective of the survey is to provide evidence for the popularity of the Pond and to understand its usage in more detail. This will help support applications for funds from new developments in Fleet and Hart in general, if we can show that people visit from a wide area.

The bulk of the volunteers (sample group above) carried on with the fence work started last month. An example of the finished product is given below – a very well-done job!

There is a summer break in the Sunday volunteer events. They will start again in September 2012.

Details of many previous events can be found by searching this blog (see rhs) and an overview for 2011-12 is given here.

Photo credits: David Pottinger