Join us on Thursday 4th March 7.30pm for a zoom talk by Paul Reynolds about ‘HART Wildlife Rescue’ -working in Hampshire to rescue British wildlife. Paul will introduce the work of Hampshire Animal Rescue Team (HART) and cover some interesting case studies as well as what to do if you find an animal in distress.

Located at Medstead near Alton, HART Wildlife runs a wildlife hospital, providing a rescue, treatment and rehabilitation service for wildlife from all over Hampshire and surrounding counties. Over 3,000 animals were treated by HART in 2020 including hedgehogs, wild birds, foxes, owls, ducks, rabbits and mice.

Note: The zoom invitation will be emailed beforehand to members and to those on our mailing list. Anyone who would like to join the meeting can request an invitation.

A write-up after the talk follows:-  On 4th March via Zoom we enjoyed a really wonderful talk by Paul Reynolds, Hospital Manager of HART Wildlife Rescue.  We are very fortunate that we have this resource for sick and injured wildlife so near to us in Medstead. Originally founded by June and Bob Gibbs, the charity has been helping local wildlife for 25 years.

In 2020 3233 patients were admitted to the hospital and ranged from deer, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, rodents and rabbits to bats, reptiles, amphibians and birds. The top three animals were garden birds and summer visitors (1086), doves and pigeons (794) and hedgehogs (604). Each patient on average costs £150 to treat and rehabilitate. Mostly the centre deals with local native wildlife but sometimes more exotic species come in. More unusual patients have included a Rhea, a North American Corn snake and an albino budgie!

Animals are admitted for a number of reasons which include: cat attacks, being orphaned, injured on the roads, being injured by litter, being poisoned, getting stuck in a hole, pond or sports net and getting a disease. Sadly animals can also be hurt from gardening hazards such as strimmers/mowers, bonfires, cutting hedges or trees. The aim is to release healthy animals back into the countryside either near where they were found or at sympathetic sites.

Hedgehogs. Despite doing relatively well in Europe, hedgehogs are in decline in the UK and now classified as Vulnerable to extinction. Indeed it is thought that they could even become extinct in the U.K. in the next fifty years! They suffer from habitat loss, road accidents, pesticides killing their food source (invertebrates), dog attacks, parasites, gardening related injuries and a lack of connectivity between their habitats. They breed from April to September and hibernate from November to March.

What can we do to help hedgehogs?

• create ‘hedgehog highways’ in other words cut small holes in fences or other boundaries so that hedgehogs can travel between gardens
• check that drains are covered and that ponds and cattle grids have escape routes so they can climb out
• feed hedgehogs – preferably cat food (biscuits) or food from Riverside Woodcraft

What should I do if I find an injured wild animal or bird?

• try to contain the animal if you can
• be cautious with deer, foxes, seals or badgers, ring HART Wildlife Rescue for advice and if suggested then cover the head with a jacket or towel
• if it is a young animal step back and look around for any parents or other orphans
• call HART Wildlife Rescue 01420 562335 or the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999

How can I help HART?

• Donate towels, newspapers, cat food (biscuits or wet food)
• Donate when you buy goods on Amazon – instead of going to Amazon, go to Smile Amazon and then select HART Wildlife Rescue as your chosen charity – a percentage of your purchase price will go straight to HART
• Buy an item from HART’s Amazon wish list (there is a host of items which range in price, recently I bought some puppy milk powder for fox cubs) see this page for more details
• host a fundraiser
• when Coronavirus is no longer an issue, volunteer to help at the centre or at the HART charity shop in Alton (near Alton library in the Bank Car Park)
• become a regular donator

You can find out more about the wonderful work at HART Wildlife Rescue by doing the following:

• follow Hart Wildlife on Facebook
• follow hartwildliferescue on Instagram
• go to the website and sign up for their newsletter.

The talk was really interesting so thank you to Paul!

Jenny

Join us on zoom for an entertaining talk by Mike Read, a freelance nature photographer specialising in birds, flowers, mammals and other wildlife as well as landscapes.  Living near the New Forest, he visited one Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust reserve each month through the year to capture the scenery and wildlife of each reserve.  The wide spread of locations produced a broad variety of habitats and showcases the great work that the HIWWT is doing.

Much wildlife features in this talk, from birds to butterflies, flowers to fungi and mammals to mites and it is delivered alongside Mike’s entertaining commentary. All welcome to attend this virtual meeting on Friday 20th November 2020 at 7.30pm.

Note: The zoom invitation will be emailed beforehand to members and to those on our mailing list. Anyone who would like to join the meeting can request an invitation.

Talk organised by Alton Climate Action and Network (ACAN) on Wednesday 4 November 7.30 pm. Information below is copied from their website.

PROTECTING THE RIVER WEY IN ALTON: TALK AND DISCUSSION BY GLEN SKELTON, SURREY WILDLIFE TRUST

Zoom event – email altonclimatenetwork@gmail.com for the link.

Glen Skelton is the Wetland Landscapes Officer at Surrey Wildlife Trust. For the past 7 years he has been supporting local communities and groups across the River Wey catchment to monitor the health of their local river and apply practical measures to restore degraded stretches. In this talk he will look in detail at the River Wey as it runs through Alton, why this is a particularly important stretch of river and highlight some of the issues and opportunities for restoring our river to something we can be proud of.

Spring-fed rivers like the Wey in Alton are seriously threatened by climate change. Glen will suggest what we all can all do to protect this magnificent resource.

We welcome Keith Betton to tell us about the ‘Birds of the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica’ on Thursday 15th October 2020. As a Farnham resident, and Hampshire County Bird Recorder, Keith  is a keen world birder and has visited the Antarctic oceans three times. In this talk he takes us through some of the amazing birds that you can see, and he will explain how the wildlife of these areas fits together in a very challenging environment. All welcome to join this virtual meeting via Zoom, AGM starts at 7pm, talk starts 7.30pm, free for members, £3 non-members.

Note:- In view of Covid-19 restrictions we will be holding a virtual meeting. The Zoom invitation will be emailed beforehand to members and to those on our mailing list. Anyone else who wants to join the meeting can request an invitation through our contact us page.

See link to .pdf  Froyle Wildlife Trustees’ Report.

TALK POSTPONED until further notice due to concerns about coronavirus.

Do join us for a talk by Kim Boog about ‘The Barn Owl Project Hampshire’ on Tuesday 17th March 2020.  We’ll hear about the perils barn owls face in the modern world, rescuing rehabilitation and release, habitats and nest boxes. If you’ve never seen a Barn Owl up close before this is your chance as Kim will be bringing one of her rescues (which is unsuitable for release).

Kim runs the Birds of Prey Hospital with which The Barn owl Project is aligned and is accredited for rehabilitation of wild orphaned or injured birds of prey.

Doors open Froyle Village Hall 7pm for teas and coffees, talk to start at 7.30pm. All welcome, entrance £3 for non members.

We welcome Hugh Milner to tell us about our wonderful Ancient Woodlands and trees on Friday 18th October. Sympathetic management of ancient woodland can create ecological impact, enhance biodiversity and benefit ancient trees. All welcome, Froyle Village Hall doors open 6.30pm, AGM starts at 7pm, talk starts 7.30pm, entrance free for members, £3 non-members, teas and coffee.

Hugh worked for many years at nearby Alice Holt for the Forestry Commission as Head Forester. He says ancient woods have been his passion for nearly 30 years, quite a transformation from his commercial career. Hugh has visited some of the woodlands in Froyle, many of which are SINCs (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), see map.

Think of an ancient tree and words that might come to mind are gnarled, knobbly, huge, bent and hollow. These sorts of characteristics are just as important as the actual age of the tree. The Ancient Tree Forum has information about the descriptions of old trees, whether they are Ancient, Veteran, Heritage, Notable or Champion. All support a wide range of wildlife including fungi, invertebrate, lichens and birds. They are irreplaceable in our lifetime.

A 1771 survey of woodlands and coppices on sundry estates in Froyle can be viewed at the Hampshire Record Office, reference 49M68/172 or download .pdf (5MB). Locally there are no trees in Froyle mentioned in the Woodland Trust’s inventory. The nearest are the Yew in Bentley churchyard, girth 3.97m and the Neatham Manor Oak, girth 9.08m. It would be brilliant to find trees in Froyle that could be added to this national inventory.

2nd Oct update: Please note there is a change of speaker as Jon Stokes is unavailable.

Family fun –join us for a 1h dipping session on Sunday 11th August to see what underwater creatures we can find in the wildlife pond near Gid Lane, Upper Froyle (see location plan).  Children will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult.  All equipment will be provided and numbers are limited so it is essential to book by emailing info@www.froylewildlife.co.uk, stating preference for 1.30pm or 2.30pm session.

Join us for an afternoon walk 2pm on Wednesday 7th August 2019 at Old Winchester Hill, National Nature Reserve for flowers, views and butterflies. Most of our 3 mile, 2h route along the hilltop is relatively flat but it should be worthwhile to descend the steep ‘south slope’ where the chalkhill blue can sometimes be seen in huge numbers on sunny days. The flower rich grasslands have developed on the thin chalky soils that are low in nutrients, and prevent vigorous species from dominating the finer herbs.

Meet 2pm at the public car park OS Grid ref SU646213, about 2km south of West Meon or share lifts from Froyle Village Hall leaving at 1.20pm. For more information about this NNR, a leaflet can be downloaded as a .pdf from Natural England.