Above: picture of Fleet Pond iced over!
Joanna Lawrence, the Fleet Pond Ranger, writes:
Winter may seem a rather quiet time in terms of wildlife sightings. Many of the invertebrates around in the summer have now disappeared, as have many of the wildflowers found around the Pond and the summer bird visitors who come to Britain every year. However, there can still be plenty to see at this time of year.
Fleet Pond has always been an excellent place for bird watching and during the winter is maybe the best time for it as without all the tree foliage the birds are much easier to spot! Many species flock together in winter, such as long-tailed tits, siskins, and redwings. Siskins often flock together with redpolls and these mixed flocks are commonly seen in the areas of wet woodland around the Pond where they feed on the seeds of alder and birch. In the early morning or late evenings you may hear the distinctive song of the song thrush or blackbird, and tree creepers and nuthatches can often be seen searching for food on tree trunks. Kingfishers can be seen around Hemelite Bay and up and down the steams that run in to the Pond. These birds are easy to spot by their bright blue plumage as they fly past.
In the early morning or around dusk, you may be lucky enough to catch sight of deer which often graze on the areas of heath or in quiet sections of woodland around the Pond.
Colourful fungi can be found nestled in leaf litter and around trees. Although most species come out in the autumn, some can still be found at this time of year. Some of the most interesting to look at are earth stars (see picture above) , fly agaric (see picture below), puffballs, and shaggy ink caps.
Picture credits: Joanna Lawrence
Kingfisher at Fleet Pond
I visited the pond today for the first time since christmas day and saw Blue Tits,Great Tits Long Tailed Tits,Robins a Nuthatch some Thrushes,a Green Woodpecker. The usual Canada Geese were walking on the iced over pond,The Egyptian Geese are still around.
Were is the best place to find the redpolls ?
Joanna Lawrence, our Pond Ranger, tells me: “The place I usually see them together with Siskins is in Kenilworth Wood
feeding in the Alder trees. They could be found in any Alder trees around the Pond.”
Hope this helps!
Thanks David,I will keep an eye out in the Kenilworth Road area,when it warms up abit!
In addition, Colin Gray (Chairman of FPS), informs me: “Best places are the stands of alders by Brookly Bridge, particularly between the bridge and the Pond, and along the path from there to Chestnut Jetty. They usually associate with the flocks of Siskins feeding on alder seeds so look carefully at any Siskin flocks.”
I did see the Siskins there on a regular basis,this time last year,but I have never seen Redpolls at the Pond.
I did bump into a birder with a scope there one day,who informed me that he had seen them.Also Bramblings.
Im looking forward to the pond thawing out ,so I can get back to photographing the Kingfishers,