The nightingales are arriving back at Lodge Hill...
...and you have a chance to hear them in person on our free guided walk: next Tuesday 24 April, 7.30pm. It is by advance booking only due to limited places – please email katie.thatcher@rspb.org.uk, or ring 01634 222480 (weekdays only) to book your place.
Adrian Thomas, our #SaveLodgeHill project manager, was at Lodge Hill yesterday filming with Channel 4 News and has sent through an update:
"What a pleasure to be at Lodge Hill yesterday, or at least on the few public rights of way that go through the site. There was the smell of spring in the air, butterflies on the wing, blackcaps and chiffchaffs singing their heart out.
But of course I was hoping to hear a nightingale or two. It is still relatively early in the season, for they will continue to arrive back from Africa from now into early May, so there was no guarantee one would be singing.
So it was a thrill when one exploded into song from the bushes beside me, just a few minutes' walk from where we will park for our free guided walk next Tuesday.
Their vocal dexterity and control is just incredible, the power astonishing - this is a soloist who knows what they are doing.
By the time I got back to the car, I had heard three singing, and I'm hoping by next week, given these southerly winds and warm conditions, more will be back to create a symphony in this, Britain's best site for this national treasure.
I hope to share this with many of you next week."
To watch the Channel 4 interview and find out more about our #SaveLodgeHill campaign visit @RSPB_Southeast