Birdsong

With most of us spending considerably more time at home (and in the garden) many people are enjoying the sound of birdsong - all day long!

The Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in fewer vehicles on roads, almost deserted skies and a cleaner, more peaceful, environment. Birdsong seems amplified by the reduction in other noise.

Birdsong is really relaxing - the perfect tonic in these worrying times. 

It's disappointing when people complain that 'birds are too noisy' or feel they're a nuisance because they might poo on a garden fence! 

The Hoo Peninsula is best known for having a vibrant bird life. 

Along with the wider Thames Estuary, the Hoo Peninsula is a vital migration hub for hundreds of thousands of wintering wildfowl and wading birds, as well as providing a summer breeding ground for migratory birds.

From garden birds to nightingales at Lodge Hill and herons at High Halstow - our local landscape provides rich pickings and a safe haven for many species. They enjoy hedgerows and gardens, farmland, waterways, wetlands, salt marshes, mudflats and woodlands.

Keep tweeting birds - and make everyone feel a little bit better.

  

No Estuary Airport - the community delivers!

The last couple of weeks have been busy, with local residents across the Hoo Peninsula getting involved and delivering thousands of Medway Council and RSPB ‘anti airport’ campaign leaflets. And we haven’t stopped delivering yet - there are still more to do!

I’ve been out delivering with a team of residents from Hoo. We have nearly completed deliveries in the village - the largest settlement on the peninsula. 

We were given a morale boost at the beginning of the month when Mayor of Medway, Councillor Ted Baker, visited the village. The Mayor attended a meeting of the Parish Council and met with its representatives and members of the local community. He was happy to show his support for the campaign objecting to an airport being built in the Thames Estuary.

If you would like to find out more about Medway Council’s campaign, visit their dedicated website by clicking here.

  

Join the RSPB for a Guided Walk (Hoo’s Herons), Sunday 11 March 2012

One hundred pairs of grey herons, and another hundred little egrets, are nesting at the RSPB Northward Hill Nature Reserve.

They are the first to kick-off the spring at the heronry and this is the best time of year to observe them - before the trees go into leaf.

Join the RSPB for a guided walk to view the birds and learn more about how the team monitors the health of the wildlife, whilst considering the impact of climate change.

When the walk arrives at the heronry viewpoint, a nice hot cuppa will be available and staff and volunteers will talk more about heron life - even offering a few historic heron themed recitals too!

Photograph taken by Simon Ginnaw (RSPB).

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for the walk by getting in touch with the RSPB on 01634 222480 (between 9am and 5pm) or send an email here.

Booking is essential - tickets are £6 for adults and £5 for children. RSPB members receive a discount of £2. And if you decided to become a member of the RSPB on the day - you'll receive a full refund.

The walk will start at 10am (on Sunday 11 March) from the main car park at Bromhey Farm (RSPB Northward Hill Nature Reserve, Bromhey Farm, Lipwell Hill, Cooling, ME3 8DS). The walk is expected to take a couple of hours to complete.
  

No Estuary Airport!

Over the last couple of months there has been growing speculation and debate about the possible building of an airport in our area. As most people will know, there are two main proposals. One being an island airport in the estuary and the other a scheme on the Isle of Grain.

The RSPB are highlighting the threats to our much cherished wildlife and have been recording the views of local residents - posting them on their website as part of an audio feature (podcast) on the issues surrounding these proposals. Click here to have a listen.

Rolf Williams from the RSPB

If you’re interested in reading more about the negative impact these devastating airport ideas would have on our local landscape and wildlife, or to get involved in the RSPB ‘No Estuary Airport’ campaign, their website is one of the best places to go. Just click here to find out more.

You might also like to take a look at ‘No Estuary Airport’ website run by the Friends of North Kent Marshes, just click here.

Medway Council’s ‘No Estuary Airport’ website can be visited by clicking here.
 

RSPB January newsletter (On the Marshes) out now!!

The January edition of the RSPB’s newsletter for the North Kent area, ‘On the Marshes’, is out now - just click the image below to download a copy!

Visit the websites of the local RSPB groups: Gravesend and Medway.
 

A message from the RSPB

I've been sent a brief update from the RSPB about their activities locally, supplied by their representative Rolf Williams (pictured below).

'Beefing up our birds'

It is a testament to the reserve teams’ expertise and skillful water management that 2011 has been a good year for breeding birds on the marshes. The unusual weather patterns in 2011, with a spring drought followed by early summer deluges, may be a portent of things to come since this matches leading climate models of our future. The RSPB’s North Kent reserves feel like wild places at the mercy of the weather but half of them are working farms, coastal grazing marshes that we manage in the interests of nature. They produce hay (for horses), wool, lamb, and beef, but, in a complex relationship between water, vegetation, and grazing, the right habitat is also created for internationally important wintering and breeding birds.

Through the hard graft of reserve staff, volunteers and contract graziers, and despite the unseasonal weather, the birds have done all right this year. We managed to utilize what water we had in such a way that breeding bird figures are as good, if not better, than normal years for precipitation. Numbers of breeding lapwing at Shorne Marshes, Cliffe Pools and Elmley Marshes were excellent, totaling 132. Redshank traditionally fluctuate in their breeding numbers but 180 pairs at Elmley Marshes broke a six-year record. The herons at Northward Hill are showing recovery after two particularly harsh winters - 96 pairs, and 45 nightingales filled the air with their song on the Hoo Peninsula reserves. Now we look forward to the winter spectacle as thousands of birds fly in to the Thames, Medway, and Swale Estuary… and why not join them for a wild day out?

Rolf Williams
RSPB North Kent Marshes Nature Reserves

If you'd like to find out more about the RSPB, take a look at their Northward Hill website by clicking here - where you'll find links to other RSPB sites in North Kent, including Cliffe Pools. You can get in touch with Rolf by clicking here.

Thanks for the update Rolf!