News
Also known as our “blog”, containing news items (“posts”), usually relating to observations made at the Pond.
1 Sep 2025: We have elms!
We finished our tree inventory at today's meeting, and were able to add another tree to our list. We are now fairly sure that the the scrubby stuff which we had previously dismissed as a form of birch is actually elm (Ulmus sp.) It appears that the identification of elms is a complex business, with botanists disagreeing over how many species (and hybrids) there actually are. To give you an idea of the problem, I've downloaded a couple of elm identification guides and added them to our Library.
Although our elms are shrubby growths, clustered around the north-east corner of the pond and apparently suckering, we have found one or two in good locations where they can be encouraged to grow larger. However, we do not expect them to reach the stature of the elms of the English countryside before Dutch Elm Disease decimated them, and they may not be the same species as those.
24 Aug 2025: New tree discovered
During today's working session we decided to carry out a partial inventory of the larger and smaller trees, with a view to planning which ones to look after and which ones need to be removed to make more room for the others. We need to allow light to penetrate to the woodland floor to allow the smaller plants such as the bluebells and other flowers to flourish, not to mention encouraging biodiversity generally.
We were surprised to find a horse-chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) which we hadn't noticed before! Just shows how important it is to do surveys!
19 Jul 2025: Tiger Moths!
A brightly coloured moth flew past one of our members, showing dark wings with cream markings on the forewings and red on the hindwings, so we suspected it to be a Scarlet Tiger moth (Callimorpha dominula). These have been common in the Fordingbridge area and other places on the Hampshire Avon since at least the early 1970's, and have recently become much more widespread in southern Britain. The moth came to rest on holly underneath a hazel bush, and to our surprise turned out to be the closely related and similarly coloured Jersey Tiger moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria).
27 Apr 2025: More bugs and an owl
While pulling sycamore seedlings at the working session this afternoon, we heard blackbirds creating a commotion, then we spotted the Tawny Owl. It was trying to have a good day's sleep, but the blackbirds were trying to keep it awake and scare it away!
07 Apr 2025: Spring has sprung (a leak)
The Pond is empty! With the recent long period of dry sunny weather, nearly all the open water in the Pond has disappeared, even earlier than in previous years.