Category Archives: Walks

RSPB Winter Walk – Birds In The Woodland

Walks

goldcrest-on-conifer

Picture: Goldcrest

On Sunday 21st December 2008, Peter Hutchins of the RSPB Basingstoke Local Group led a walk around the pond for seven members of the group, on their last outdoor meeting of the year.

The walk had two aspects, the Pond (earlier post) and the Woodland (this post).

For those of you unfamiliar with locations around the Pond, the About section of this blog gives a map. For information on birds, see RSPB and Wikipedia.

The report by Peter Hutchins of the morning’s events is as follows:

In thinner birch woodland, east of the pond, we saw active mixed tit flocks immediately, these far more energetic than the Black-headed Gulls drifting in overhead from the north. Magpie and Woodpigeon fed out in the open, whilst Robin and Wren were more elusive, their calls attracting our attention as they skulked. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was also vocal, eventually showing itself to the group, though only as a silhouette before moving off with its characteristic undulating flight. Goldfinch and Cormorant were also on the move, the former often from tree to tree, the latter circling over the pond before dropping in to join others already fishing there.

At Boathouse Corner a Siskin appeared overhead, a single bird that was not to prepare us for later. Dunnock and Goldcrest called, as we headed south, past Chestnut Grove.

Brookly Wood, on the south-western edge of the pond, was busier. Increasing numbers of Siskin coming in to feed in alder attracted a scattering of Lesser Redpoll, a minimum of 150 of the former being seen as a Sparrowhawk encouraged them into the air, whereas less than a handful of the latter were noted at any time. A Kingfisher was vocal about the woodland streams and another Great Spotted Woodpecker proved equally vociferous, though at least this bird was good enough to allow viewing for some time before moving again out of sight. The tit flocks here included the first Long-tails of the day, acrobatic about the spindlier honeysuckle stems and collectively verbal as they gleaned for invertebrates.

Picture: Common Kingfisher

Dense scrub on the edge of Kenilworth Wood held the watchers for some time, finches, thrushes and tits all progressively appearing from within the mass of tangled vegetation. A Redwing, at first heard hissing, and then sat in the open. This single bird was perhaps another indicator of just how mild it currently is? Siskin and Lesser Redpoll streamed over the treetops in voluble parties, the mass of alder cones not enough to allow them to settle as alarm ran through the flock repeatedly

The party split, well one went walk-about, as we headed towards Sandy Bay. The lost soul picking up two Grey Wagtail, Nuthatch and Treecreeper as compensation for the absence of the Group!

Back in to the woodland and the final side of the pond was covered. Tits and Goldcrests appeared in the skeletal remains of Coldstream Wood, some, though not all, managing to hear the shrill piping of the crests as they explored the remnants of the foliage still clinging stubbornly to otherwise naked branches. Open grassland at the back of the Sandhills added another thrush, the one and only Mistle of the day, as it sat close in to the woodland edge.

This report is an edited version (kindly provided by Michelle Salter) of the complete version that appears in the RSPB Basingstoke Local Group January 2009 Newsletter.

Picture credits: Goldcrest (iStock, courtesy of Michelle Salter) and Common Kingfisher.

PS Apologies for the error in the original blog post that had the picture of the Common Kingfisher accidentally incorrectly titled and referenced. Thanks to Peter for pointing this out.

RSPB Winter Walk – Birds At The Pond

Education, Walks

swan-at-pond

On Sunday 21st December 2008, Peter Hutchins of the RSPB Basingstoke Local Group led a walk around the pond for seven members of the group, on their last outdoor meeting of the year.

The walk had two aspects, the Pond (this post) and the Woodland (a future post).

For those of you unfamiliar with locations around the Pond, the About section of this blog gives a map. For information on birds, see RSPB and Wikipedia.

The report by Peter Hutchins of the morning’s events is as follows:
Boathouse Corner provided our first view of the open water, a Water Rail calling from the seclusion of scrub and reeds on the water’s edge. The Black-headed Gull were joined on the water by two Lesser Black-backed Gull, whilst resident wildfowl included a few pairs of Canada Geese, a single island-hugging Greylag, four winter-plumaged Great Crested Grebe and a drake Shoveler, distant and brief as it swum out in and out of reeds on the southern side. Grey Heron were seen in flight, an adult showing particularly well as it headed low over the water westwards.

Hemelite Bay, in the north-western corner, played host to a Kingfisher that allowed all to see it before heading back out over the pond, past further Canada Geese, Mallard and Moorhen. A singing Siskin also put on a show; though being hidden behind a tree trunk only the extremities could be seen before it too moved on.

We headed south to the main viewing, and definitely feeding, platform by Chestnut Grove. Here Mute Swan, Mallard, Moorhen and the only Coot on the pond, fed close to hand, the Greylag remained ensconced on its island refuge, Great Crested Grebe dived further out and the gulls and Cormorants completed the bird jigsaw still further in the distance.

Heading to the southern side of the pond and looking back northwards, over Fugelmere Bay, added an adult Herring Gull distantly consorting with its smaller relatives, then two adult Common Gulls joined in the stream of larids to and from the ponds surface. A Great Crested Grebe loitered close to the safety of reeds and overhead both silhouetted Jackdaw and Greenfinch were more easily picked out by their utterances. A brief fish breaching several times was thought to be a carp – well by me anyway!

great-crested-grebe

Picture: Great Crested Grebe

We headed towards Sandy Bay, where Mallard were busy about Fir Tree Island and, further back still, Cormorant were scattered like used and blackened candles on the icing of Cormorant Island. Far distant were two Grey Heron, both hunched morosely in trees. The now slightly choppier water still held just gulls, the four species all being seen again, and the wildfowl formerly noted. The clouding had broken a little but we were soon to be back under cover and missed any benefits this may have brought.

Finishing off back at Boathouse Corner, viewing out over the pond found a brisker, more chilling wind, moving in from the west, seemingly having drifted in more wildfowl and gulls to this corner. Though the local family leaving as we arrived were more likely to have had an effect on the birds, with perhaps a crumb or two having been cast for the resident birds? These included a pair of Canada Geese, perhaps not so resident but now taken for granted after many years of introduced status.

Two Grey Heron moved off across our field of view and the Greylag was seen to have at last vacated its island, thrashing about in the shallow margins as it bathed. A Sparrowhawk drifting high to the west passed in front of clouds that had once again split just briefly to allow the sun to hint at what might have been.

This report is an edited version (kindly provided by Michelle Salter) of the complete version that appears in the RSPB Basingstoke Local Group January 2009 Newsletter.

Picture credits: Swan (Michelle Salter) and Great Crested Grebe.

Walks Around The Pond

Walks

Fleet Pond Map 2014

This map is an updated version (2014) of the one that appeared in the original post in 2008. In particular it shows the new islands.

The recommended walks around Fleet Pond are marked by colour-coded posts (see also the map above) and introduce a selection of wildlife habitats. Please keep to the well-used paths.

Short Walk (Red Markers) 1km

The Red Route will take you past The Dry Heath, one of the two open heathland areas, along wood-land paths. The Route visits Boathouse Corner with its fishing jetty designed for wheelchair use and the Picnic Site with a good view of the lake, the fringing reedbed and the open marsh. Please note that the section of path between Boathouse Corner and the Picnic Site is a woodland walk with many tree roots to trip the unwary.

Medium Walk (Yellow Markers) 3km

This route takes a full circuit of the lake. The northern and western footpaths are suitable for wheelchairs and children carriers in all but the wettest weather. Excellent views of the lake can be had from the northern and north-western footpaths and from Chestnut Grove landing stage. The path crosses Brookly Stream, one of the two feeder streams into the lake. The oldest section of Fleet Pond’s woodlands, at Sandhills, has good specimens of oak and Scots pine. A carpet of bluebells appears in early spring. Coldstream Glade attracts butterflies, bees and other insects and Sandy Bay is a popular spot for people, with informal seats and good views. At Sandy Bay, the Gelvert Stream, enters the lake. Near Westover Road access point, you will pass through an open glade and, on a warm sunny day, smell the pungent aroma of bog myrtle.

Long Route (Blue Markers) 4km

This follows the Yellow Route but extends to include Brookly Wood and Wood Lane Heath. Brookly Wood was once a private garden and contains some of the Reserve’s best beech trees. There are also “exotics” here: bamboo, rhododendron and laurels. The footpath through Brookly Wood is narrow and can be very muddy in winter. Wood Lane Heath is a moist heath. Late July and August are the best times to see the heather in flower. The footpath skirts the heath and is informal but firm.