Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of guiding 10 members of the public along the Saxon Shore Way at RSPB Cliffe Pools to listen to the wonderful song of the Nightingales. As usual I pretty much promised them the song, but I never guarantee a sighting, knowing how difficult they are to see.
After giving them a small talk about the plight of the Nightingale and specifically regards Lodge Hill and Medway Councils' plans for housing, albeit now scaled down not to encroach onto SSSI, but to me (and this just my personal opinion) too close to this majorly important breeding site.
As we made our way along the path snatches of song accompanied us as we strolled along, People were thrilled to hear the snippets, but I knew that in a short while we would get much better, closer and louder songs and within 15 or so minutes that was very much the case. I love to watch and interact with people who had never heard tthe song before or who had, and hadn't heard it for a while.
On our approach to the mouth of Cliffe Creek we could see the sun just setting across the River Thames over Tilbury. Last week the moon gave us a spectacular show rising in its' full phase over Northward Hill. With the rising moon, setting sun and beautiful Nightingale serenades it really does connect us with nature.
On the way back we had two males battling it out in the midst of brambes a few yards away in stereo to an enraptured audience and a distant Cuckoo, there were also a lot of Common Terns overhead
Thanks, as ever to my fellow members of the RSPB Medway Local Group, Warren Mann and Des and Carol Felix.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.