Ah, the fickle nature of our weather. Easter was mostly foul, then some wet snow, and then some lovely warm sunshine, and as I write (type), it's persisting it down with snow and hail again, and I thought it was spring!

Here we are in April, and the long dark days of winter are behind us, the winter management programme is all but done, with the exception of some burning of a backlog of cuttings. In fact speaking of burning, I guess emotions are still running high after our bonfire in July 06, as I was working with reserve staff from across S.E England, cutting scrub and burning it on a rather large bonfire when we had a friendly visit from the fire brigade, much to my shock! They had reports of a fire on the common from passing motorists from the A3, I suppose it's good that people are still vigilant.

As we move on to the spring and summer work programme its time to get back to Board walking.  From the kind and generous donations raised over several events, we have spent £2000 of it on some materials, as well as what we bought last summer, so I have plenty to get in with, and hopefully with some assistance from volunteers and regional staff we should make good progress. ( Taking of fund raising, one brief point, the final tally for monies raised from our photo exhibition last December stands at £607 so not a bad effort for a few local snappers)

For me, this is a great time of the working year. Whilst working on the boardwalk network I get to meet far more of the visitors and regular users of the reserve, and get to see a great deal more of the wildlife, rather than in the winter months when I am cooped up in a tractor or stuck under a chainsaw helmet and get to see or hear very little. I always consider the second half of April as the true beginning of the wildlife extravaganza, the Dragonflies start emerging, the Hobby returns to the reserve, the mire (bog) begins to bloom and the reptiles start appearing from their winter hibernation. All in all a very vibrant, and busy time of year.

During late May and into early June we are privileged here at Thursley NNR to be taking part in Surrey's Heath Week. Organised through the Surrey Heathland Project, a wide variety of events are taking place across the regions Heaths to celebrate all that that is good and great about the wildlife, history and beauty of these fragile habitats. Look out for posters going up in May, local press releases or have a look on the internet at Surrey County Councils web site under the Surrey Heathland Project pages.

I personally will be leading a walk to look at the plants and animals that live in and around the bog area of the reserve, as well as some general info about the site. The walk will be on Sunday 1^st June at 10.30 from the Moat car park, and should last about 2 hours or so. Other events include an evening walk to look at Nightjars and other animals active at dusk, on Monday 26^th 7 - 10 pm from the Moat CP again, and a fascinating chance to get up close and personal with snakes and lizards, this will be at the cricket pavilion from 2 -3.30 pm on Wednesday 28^th, followed by an optional walk on the heath to talk about their habitat requirements. These events are all totally free, so do come along, dogs on leads please.

Speaking of dogs, it's that time of year again where I do ask for them to be kept on leads or at very least under very close control. We have many rare and special creatures that live and nest on the open ground and in our water bodies, which are easily disturbed or killed by dogs running free across the reserve or leaping about in the ponds. Many people I have already spoken with are genuinely surprised to hear this; they believe since the fire, the open and burned areas are devoid of wildlife. But the situation is quite the contrary. The more open areas provide perfect habitat for birds such as the Woodlark and Nightjar, both increasingly rare and endangered species. So PLEASE keep them under control.

As ever if you want more information don't hesitate to contact us at the office, or grab me when I am on site, always enjoy a chat.