How far would you go to hear the fabulous song of the nightingale, fifty miles? A hundred miles? Two hundred miles? How about four hundred and thirty miles or eight hundred and sixty round trip. from Glasgow to Northward Hill RSPB reserve in Kent.
Retired solicitor Fiona McLean did exactly that and I was honoured to take her round Northward Hill reserve this afternoon. I met her yesterday at our Medway Local Group coach trip to Minsmere, she approached me and asked where was the best place to hear Nightingales in Kent, " Northward Hill" I immediately said (of course) and arranged to meet her mid afternoon today. The weather was glorious, the sky as blue as a picture poster, leaves on the trees as fresh as lettuce.
Firstly at Sweeney viewpoint we took in the breath-taking vista of the Marshes across to Essex and beyond. I couldn't help thinking about Gill Moore who so tragically died last Sunday out on the marsh, such a fighter and campaigner against the airport and latterly Lodge Hill and Medway Councils' ridiculous plan to build 5,000 homes, obliterating an ecological gold-mine and destroying a Site of Special Scientific Interest for this fabled species.
We were lucky enough to see a cuckoo, and hear the not so often bubbling call of the female.
So across the bridge on the heron trail we listened at the woods, nothing.
We bumped into several birders who told us "too late in the year" and "too early in the day" etc.
Undeterred we made our way up the hill, up the steps and into Northward Hill. The occasional snatch of song was always tantalizingly just ahead.
After a few moments every whistle, bubble and squeak of their remarkable repertoire washed over us, their vocal range is spell-binding and never-ending.
Fiona had never heard the legendary bird in the flesh, I have hundreds of times! Both of us were captivated, such is the power and beauty of this songster. So whether heard for the first time or the umpteenth time, always a delight, always a pleasure and always a magical moment in a fast, technicalogical busy world.
A connection with nature, a moment to forget the stresses of modern life and move away to a calmer place.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.