BioDiversity News

Water Voles

At the end of last summer, local student Stuart Croft, surveyed the ditches and streams in Hurst. Water voles were recorded at 23 locations, despite the driest summer on record. Hurst has been declared the largest known water vole population in East Berkshire.

Red Kites

Keep your eyes peeled for Red Kites over Hurst. These magnificent birds are being seen more frequently as the growing population spreads out from the re-introduction site in the Chilterns. The areas has many stands of tall tress, farmland and open grassland, which they favour, so it hopefully won’t be too long before they breed locally. Red Kites have a wing span of up to 2 metres; the best clue for positive identification is the forked tail and reddish-brown body.

Local Nature Reserves

A request has been made to the parish council for various areas within Hurst to be declared Local Nature Reserves. The woodland and field next to the village school between School Lane and Orchard Road is a possible site. We await a response and will report in the next newsletter.