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…

Free Guided Walk with Nature on Sunday 13 March at RSPB Cliffe Pools. Organised and lead by the RSPB Medway Local Group.

TQ722757 (ME3 7SX)                                    9.00 am HT 8.40 am               Leader: Warren Mann

The various pools should be full of waders and wildfowl. Birds of prey and owls could also put in an appearance and there are always gulls.

Meet in the reserve car park off Salt Lane and please be aware that there is no cover or facilities…

There’s always something new and interesting to see at RSPB Northward Hill and today was no exception.

With intermittent sunshine and a constant threat of rain, it was nice to hear car-park Blue Tits and distant Great Tits singing in the trees and bushes.

Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren were also adding their voices to the birdsong.

My mission today was to discover if any insect species were emerging in the mild…

3 Woodcock at the Marsh Viewpoint (Northward Hill) as well as a female Tawny Owl showing well (to make a change). Up to 30 Bramblings flying into the brambles nearby to roost. This was at about 4:15 and it was still pretty light

It was lovely to hear a Song Thrush singing its' heart out in the scrub near the office.

The song consists of a series of vigorous, simple phrases, less rich than that of the Blackbird, but with a penetrating quality. The fluting notes are often interspersed with harsh, impure tones and some mimicry of other species. Each phrase is repeated between two or four times, most often three as an average.

Song thrushes establish…

Group Trip to Cliffe Pools – Saturday 11th December 2021

Posted: 15 Dec 2021 08:14 AM PST

It was a good litter-pick by Finn Gregory and his Father Colm this morning. The weather was slightly better than last Saturday, at least there was no wind to bring the chill factor down. They managed to clear a goodly amount of plastic from the top end of Cliffe Creek along to the Thames pipeline. No mean task when a lot of it is semi-buried in the soil and semi--broken down. This means it desintegrates when you try and…

It was brilliant this evening to renew my acquaintance with Dougie and Sarah Wright in the car-park. I was just about to lock the maingate, when we got into conversation about my blog a few days earlier about the Woodcock seen every evening over Sweeney Viewopoint as dusk descends.

I agreed to leave the gate shutting until later to allow them to see the Woodcock flying out onto the marsh.

In the meantime Frank Cackett…

With the late Autumn chill starting to really bite ahead of the predicted freeze it is still a pleasant walk from the Bromhey Farm Car-Park up to the Sweeney Veiwpoint.

This evening my subject of attention was not the famed Covid roost, but the showing of a good number of Woodcock as they flew over the Veiwpoint out onto the distant marsh.

I have to say it was a bit nippy exposed as it was overlooking Gordons' Hide and…

Wind Gusts of 40mph and heavy rain did not deter the 8 dedicated members of the group who braved the conditions and met at Grain Country Park on Sunday morning. We set off along the coastal path and although high tide had past, the waters edge was still fairly close to shore and we had good views of the many waders feeding on the freshly exposed mud flats.  Curlew, black-headed gull, oystercatcher, brent geese, grey…

As ever, a lovely afternoon on the reserve, a lot of cars in the car-park. I love that when I arrive as it means a goodly amount of visitors I can interact with, be they seasoned visitors or first timers. The sun was out and clouds only ocassionaly blotted it out. 

This meant a few Hoverflies still gathered nectar on the remaining Hawksbit. They were joined by a very obliging, and surprisingly fresh Peacock Butterfly.

On an afternoon that quite honestly felt, weather-wise more like late October, it was pleasant to see quite a few species around still.

Butterflies, there were Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Red Admiral, Meadow Browns and Small Heath, but not much else.

A very battered and tatty Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) gave me my first photo opportunity, followed by a Green Sheildbug (Palomena prasina).

Up onto Sweeney Viewpoint…