Male And Female Reed Buntings

Colin Gray writes:

“Now is a very good time to look out for the visiting finches.

Siskins will be feeding on the seeds of alder and birch high up in the tree canopy.  A good spot is by the bridge over the Brookly Stream where the alders are tall and packed with their tiny “cones” full of seeds.  Siskins “twitter” all the time they are feeding.

Look out for flocks of finches feeding among the leaf litter and in particular the Chaffinches as with them you might be lucky enough to see a Brambling or two.

If you live near the Pond your bird table might attract Reed Buntings.  The males are now in full summer plumage with their black faces and smart white moustaches set off against their striped chestnut wings.”

Please also see here (siskins and redwings) and here (siskins and redpolls).

Picture credit here.

This event, which focused on clearing dense cover to encourage plant diversity, was blessed with wonderful blue skies. On top of that, and in keeping with an earlier promise, potatoes were baked in the fire and eaten at the end of the session – see pictures above and below.

Tucking In!

Potatoes Baking Nicely In The Fire

There were quite a few new volunteers at this event which was great to see. All help is appreciated of course, dogs included!

The final result. It’s quite amazing how much 15-20 people can do working together in a few hours. If you fancy coming along to the next event, which is on Sunday 13th, please go here for contact and meeting details (the schedule for 2011 will be published shortly). We hope to see you there!

Water Violet, a rare aquatic plant, has returned to Fleet Pond Nature Reserve after a 21 year absence. Local botanist Chris Hall re-discovered the plant late last year.  Management work was carried out on an old drainage ditch leading to Coldstream Marsh in the winter of 2009 by Hart Countryside Service.  It is thought viable seeds lay dormant in the mud and that the re-profiling of the ditch exposed them to the light and led to germination.

Water Violet is a delicate aquatic plant of shallow water or wet mud, found in ditches and pond margins in clear, nutrient-poor water.  It produces spikes of delicate lilac flowers in May and June.  The name refers to the colour of its flowers but this plant is actually a member of the primrose family.  It was first recorded at Fleet Pond in 1850 and there were many subsequent records.

Water Violet is a scarce wild flower in Hampshire with only three other recently confirmed native locations in the county.  It is also regionally scarce and nationally uncommon, being mainly confined to lowland England.  It has declined due to drainage, pollution, excessive management of ditches and recreational pressures on suitable aquatic habitats.

There has been a national decline in the number of native plant species and the re-occurrence of this scarce native plant after more than two decades is very positive news.

Tim Ackroyd, the Fleet Pond Ranger, says:

“The re-discovery of Water Violet at Fleet Pond supports the need for regular biological surveys, which help to monitor the health of the pond. We can attribute the re-appearance of this scarce plant to careful management. Exciting large-scale habitat restoration work is being carried out at the nature reserve to enhance biodiversity. This work is funded by Natural England for a ten year period and includes improving the water quality and reducing silt deposition within the pond and restoring valuable marshland, reedbed and heathland habitats”

The Fleet Pond Management Plan can be viewed here.

Picture credit here.

Fleet Pond has an interesting history including it’s relationship with the railway station at Fleet.

Here are some extracts from an article on this subject on the web (see here):

The original station was named Fleetpond and located on the west of the current Fleet Road Bridge across the railway.

…

However, the amount of traffic at the station was so little that in 1858 there was a proposal to abolish the station completely although this never happened.

In 1854 the War Department had purchased Fleet Pond and much of the surrounding area as a training ground. A successful temporary training camp on nearby Chobham common in 1853, just prior to the Crimea War (1854-56) had led to the army looking for a permanent training site in the area. In 1897 the LSWR purchased a further area of land from the War Department to allow the widening of the line, construct the new station and a goods yard.

The new station at Fleet came into use in 1904. At the time the population in Fleet had grown to about 2,000 and the first local council had been formed in the same year. The council, generally formed of local businessmen appeared to have some regard to maintaining the rural nature of the area. It is perhaps with some irony that when the LSWR applied to build a works at Fleet the request was refused. Instead the LSWR would build their works at Eastleigh; this would become one of the world’s most famous locomotive works.

It’s startling to imagine what a different future Fleet and Fleet Pond would have had if this decision had gone the other way!

Picture credit: web site above.

There’s still a few days left to take some pictures or else to send in an existing picture to the FPS Photographic Competition.

The deadline is Thursday 20th January 2011.

Details here and best of luck!