The first two walks of the 2023 Nightingale Festival, organised by RSPB Medway Local Group, were both held at the RSPB Northward Hill reserve. Unfortunately, the cold, wet Spring was not ideal for the arrival of these wonderful birds.
Our first walk was on Saturday 15 April, and on the previous day a survey had shown 11 birds to be present. On the day of the walk Trevor Hatton, the walk leader, spent several hours trying to locate these birds, but none could be found, and on the walk itself they proved equally elusive. With 7 participants we tried the scrub, the Sweeney viewpoint, Northward Hill and the woods without success. We had to make do with calls of the ever-present Cetti’s Warblers and a single Tawny owl, plus sightings of Little Egret, Grey Heron and Mediterranean Gull. But as we made our way back to the car park in almost total darkness, a few stragglers at the back of our group were rewarded by scraps of the faint song of a distant nightingale.
The outlook for our second walk Friday 21 April, looked ominous, as it was gloomier, colder and potentially wetter than the previous walk, and this time we had only 5 customers. With Adrian Olsen leading, we took the same route as previously, with the same result – no nightingales. We went deeper into the wood, and then we picked up a few snatches of song. Encouraged, we went further along the track and found two more birds, fairly close to each other, exchanging fragments of song. As the light was failing, we decided to call it a day, but as Adrian pointed out, these birds are called Nightingales for a reason, and there was a chance we might do better as it got darker on the return leg. How right he was. Firstly, while still in the woodland, we had a long session of a bird in full song, thrilling us with its range of sounds. Then as we reached the top of the hill we heard the call of a tawny owl, which was quickly followed by the sound of another nightingale from the scrub further down the hill. We were once again treated to the full repertoire. Eventually, we continued our walk to the car park well pleased with what we had heard. One of the participants said that he had never heard a nightingale before, but it had made such an impression on him, that he felt he would never forget the sound. I think we can count that as a success.
Warren Mann RSPB Local Group Leader.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.