Adrian Thomas, our #SaveLodgeHill campaign manager, tells us about National Nightingale Festival events which will give anyone the opportunity to hear nightingales for real.
Nightingales are the virtuoso soloist of the bird world. But while most people will have heard of a nightingale, few will have actually heard their incredible song. This is even more the case these days with the British population having nose-dived – with fewer than 6,000 singing males thought to be left.
Their range has contracted to just a few special places in the south and east of England, including Lodge Hill (one of the reasons for our #SaveLodgeHill campaign - please sign our online action if you haven’t done so already as we only have until the 18 April to respond).
It's not just night time when the males sing, they can also be heard through the day (c) Kev Chapman (Flickr - CC BY 2.0)
That's why the nature reserves out there that still have nightingales have come together under the banner of National Nightingale Festival.
Over 100 events are taking place between 13 April and 27 May 2017, run by a range of organisations. They include guided walks, talks, and even a series of unique evenings that combine live folk music and storytelling performed against the backdrop of the birdsong by Sam Lee, the BBC Folk Award winner and Mercury Music Prize nominee, soon to be heard on the soundtrack of the new Guy Ritchie movie “King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword”.
You can see all the events taking place on the Nightingale Festival webpage with links to the relevant organisation's information. Please note that most events require advance booking and carry a charge.
You can then get along to hear a nightingale for real and forget your cares and worries for an evening!
Our thanks to the event organisers: Kent Wildlife Trust, Sussex Widlife Trust, Essex Widlife Trust, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Knepp Safaris, Huntingdonshire Borough Council, Birkbeck University, and Sam Lee & The Nest Collective.
And if you have never heard nightingales, I can tell you, it is a treat. Here is a little clip of one I recorded last year - just listen to the endless variety of notes and phrases, executed with such control and power. Amazing! And just a little reminder of why it is so important to #SaveLodgeHill.
Play this audio clip
How can you help?
We need as many people to stand up for Lodge Hill as possible by 18 April latest.
Respond to the consultation: Complete the easy online action. But if at all possible, please write a fuller response to the consultation instead. You can find useful information on how to do this here.
On social media: Follow #SaveLodgeHill on Twitter and Facebook. Every retweet, share and new account you tag helps us to reach as many people as possible before the consultation closes on 18th April.