During January, 80 Pink-footed Geese flew over to the south-east, two Little Egrets were seen, five drake Mandarin Ducks were present on the North Lake and a returning flock of 45 Pink-footed Geese flew over to the north at the end of the month. February was literally a “wash-out”, with the only bird of note being a Peregrine Falcon. The first half of March began with a Stonechat on 11th, two Chiffchaffs on 16th, and Sand Martins arrived two days later. During the latter half of the month, there were two Little Ringed Plovers, 21 Whooper Swans, a Swallow on 30th and two Avocets dropped in the next day.
The feeding station was visited by 16 species during the winter. Great Spotted Woodpeckers were attracted to a peanut butter type food, which a Treecreeper also found to its liking. Thirteen Reed Buntings were counted, four species of tit occurred, also Goldfinches and the occasional Siskin, but no Yellowhammers this year. The lack of hard frosts and snow cover probably reduced any cold weather movements. Four persistent Grey Squirrels, which are able to access the fenced-off ground feeders, visited too often and have thus prompted a review of the station layout for next season. This should also improve the situation created by the presence of nine Pheasants which cause considerable disturbance.
The volunteer Management Team undertook a work day on site each month from September 2022 to 2nd April 2023. Work undertaken included:
1. new cladding was put on the front of the hide using floor boarding,
2. willows were cut back below the hide,
3. Crassula was raked out from part of the pond and left on the bank,
4. the contractors strimmed the six areas fenced off against rabbits and geese,
5. the level of sand in the Sand Martin wall drops each year, 19 bags of sand were taken out and used to build up the level again. The sand medium has to be the correct medium, otherwise it could collapse while the birds were breeding,
6. a new hand rail was fitted to the bridge leading to the copse,
7. the hedge round the pond was cut,
8. the Pyramidal Orchid site, which is fenced around to protect the plants, was strimmed,
9. the Tern Platform was cleaned up and made ready,
10. ten old fence posts were replaced with new around the fenced-off
11. the top path on the East Side was padly damaged when contractors carried out work on behalf of NPG. The team’s final job was a major effort to make the path safe again.
These are just a few examples of the work carried out by our team of volunteer members. Unfortunately, on five occasions, the team consisted of only four members; the make-up of the team on any day is always unknown. The old saying “Many hands make light work” springs to mind!
If this continues, the status of Farnham G.P. as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation is under threat. All of you who visit Nature Reserves must realize that they have to be managed by teams of professionals along with volunteers like us. Farnham is not different, it’s on your doorstep and it NEEDS YOUR HELP!
June E. Atkinson
Honorary Warden, Chairman of the Management Committee