Northward Hill

Despite a weather forecast of rain, rain and then more rain, 10 of us turned out for our first outing of 2023. The thought of Cliffe Pools in the rain probably put some of you off but it shouldn’t have because we had a great day. On arrival the skies were already trying to lighten and the forecast rain was nowhere to be seen. We were prepared however dressed in full waterproofs, well I was anyway. We made our way along…

This weekend I was Duty Volunteer Warden on the two North Kent Marsh Reserves ie RSPBs Northward Hill and Cliffe Pools.

Plenty of Butterflies were still showing well in this traditional period when birds are nesting etc. These beautiful insects are often a welcome interlude between periods of frenzied pairing, mating and nesting avian activity.

On both reserves Peacocks, Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Small…

Last night Trevor Hatton and I spent a happy two hours watching the Barn Owl Family pop in and out of the window at the rear of the Cooling Radio Station.

True, they weren't as active as they had been on every previous every evening, but never the less, both parents and owlets were on display most of the time.  

It was so lovely to see a handful of Purple Emperor Butterflies at RSPB Northward Hill over the weekend

interspersed with one or two Purple Hairstreaks on the same Willow Tree. Other species flitted and chased

each other, often quite high up. The difference in size between the Purple Emperor and the Red Admiral as

they fought over territory was quite obvious, although the stunning males never came down to show off

their…

Yesterday afternoon when I was locking up Northward Hill RSPB my attention was drawn to a flash of lime green at my feet, at first I thought it was a caterpillar being dragged off by some ants (there is a huge ant colony in the sandy soil by the reserve gate). A closer inspection revealed it to be being carried by a Red-banded Sand Wasp. I whizzed back to my car for my phone, by which time she had struggled with the paralysed…

Today I spent quite more few more hours on the reserve than I can normally afford, so I was there in

 the afternoon for about 4 or 5 hours.

I spoke to Sonja Hardy, the Warden and assured her I would be locking up this reserve and RSPB Cliffe Pools.

I set off along the main track, slowly making my way to Sweeney Viewpoint. I noted the Black Horehound

flowers were even now, beginning to fade.

At ‘Sweeney’ the whole…

Whilst the weather has been disappointing of late and looks to start improving gradually over the next few days finally, quite a few insects have braved the cooler temperatures to hunt, feed and mate. Red Ants are farming the Aphids, Robber Flies are flitting through the leaves looking for insect prey.

In the Willow Wood, Yellow-barred Long-horned Moths danced around females aiming to impress them. With impossibly long…

This evening was RSPB Medway Local Groups’ last Nightingale walk of the year. The males only sing for about six weeks as they seek to establish their territories and hope to entice a female to pair up with them.

Rather sadly any still singing beyond the end of May and into June have not been able to attract a mate.

Fortunately on this occasion the Assistant Warden had kindly provided me with a map showing all the…

It was great to greet 16 people at Bromhey Farm RSPB Northward Hill car-park for a pretty impromptu Barn Owl Watch Walk.

The Walk was instigated after sighting parent Owls hunting last Thursday on a regular Nightingale Walk as we made our way back from a very successful descent from the hill and back up to Sweeney Viewpoint.

So we decided an Owl Walk was a good idea, after consent from the reserve and at short notice…

Today I locked up at RSPB Cliffe Pools as usual at about 4ish.

I then drove to RSPB Northward Hill to do the same. About halfway between Cliffe and Cooling I encountered a lovely bright yellow bird washing itself in a puddle at the roadside. 

It was a Yellow Wagtail, no mistaking, it actually flew off as I slowed to watch it then landed on a fence post ten yards away giving me an even better and closer view of the amazing…

Today I had the privilege of taking a Community based charity group from Chatham round on a nature walk at RSPB Cliffe Pools. I opened up the car-park at 10 am as I do most weekends. From there I could hear a lot of birdsong including, Chiff Chaff, Blackcap, Whitethroats, Dunnock, Cettis’ Warbler and Reed Warbler.

About 10.30 the organisers, Steve and Shila arrived, Steve I’ve met before, but Shila was new to me…

This evening was the sixth and pen-ultimate Nightingale Walk organised by RSPB Medway Local Group. As usual we met at 7 o’clock at the appointed venue, this time RSPB Northward Hill.

Firstly we set off toward Ernest Hemsley Viewpoint to hear a fair few snatches of song from a lone bird, unfortunately not as yet the Full Monty as I would call it.

We then made our way back through the Willow Wood, eventually ending…

We met promptly at 7 at the Guard House of the former Lodge Hill Army Camp in Chattenden.

At the beginning of each walk, I normally give a short talk regarding Medway Council’s outrageous plan to build housing adjacent to or on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI in short).

In total nearly 30 of us were present, being the site most under threat from the Councils’ Housing Policy I felt it warranted a little…

This weekend with the weather gradually improving the butterflies were beginning to show. 

The species I saw over the two day period were:- Tortoiseshell, Comma, Peacock, Wall Brown, Small White, Speckled Wood and best of all, a Green Hairstreak.

On the bird front still plenty of singing from Cettis' Warbler, Cuckoo, Whitethroat and of course Nightingale!

There were 18 guests and 5 group members at Bromhey Farm last night. Our Group Leader Warren Mann addressed the assembled thanking Sonja (The Warden) for allowing us to visit the reserve after hours. He then decided to split the group into two with a leader assigned to each. Me to one and Trevor Hatton to the other.

I decided to go to the path that leads to the Ernest Hemsley Viewpoint as I'd heard a Nightingale singing…

There were 18 guests and 5 group members at Bromhey Farm last night. Our Group Leader Warren Mann addressed the assembled thanking Sonja (The Warden) for allowing us to visit the reserve after hours. He then decided to split the group into two with a leader assigned to each. Me to one and Trevor Hatton to the other.

I decided to go to the path that leads to the Ernest Hemsley Viewpoint as I'd heard a Nightingale singing…

I don't normally manage to get onto the reserve much before lunchtime, however this morning I was there just after ten. I walked, as usual from the car-park towards Sweeney Viewpoint stopping at the Willow tree by the old bench to listen to a Nightingale singing full throttle as he often does.

A blackcap was also singing very close by. I looked into the greenery to see if I could spy the latter (as there is no chance…

As above, there is always something exciting to see at RSPB Northward Hill. Despite the weather not being too good there were quite a few butterflies around this weekend, Orange Tip, Brimstone, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small White and Speckled Wood.

Still a lot of Whitethroat singing and displaying from the brambles, Chiff Chaff and Blackcap in the emerging Willows, Cettis' Warbler belting out their unmistakable song alongside…

I thought I would pop up to the reserve this morning for an hour and I am glad I did. As I drove through the gates a Sparrowhawk was on high wheeling around in fairly tight circles as is their wont, not really being bothered by the nearby Corvids. A little further on along the track a Common Buzzard was doing a similar thing, again unusually for the Buzzard it was not being mobbed either.

There was also a Kestrel hovering…

I am the first to admit, every-year I am always nervous of the first official walk of the year. This generally takes place about halfway through April and is no guarantee the males will sing, especially when the weather Mid-Apr is never always that good, one never really knows until the day, of course by then it's too late to cancel things.

We all met just before 7 pm in the car park at Bromhey Farm, in the event fellow…