Trip reports
%20(crop)%2090_tcm9-27939.jpg) | Thursday, 25 November 2021 Sheppey: the wildest place in Kent? There were waders galore along the estuary coast. More... |
 | Saturday, 20 November 2021 How did the cattle egret get its name ... More... |
 | Saturday, 23 October 2021 A very productive trip to Oare, including an eider, unusual to see in Kent. More... |
 | Thursday, 23 September 2021 Plenty of waders at Cliffe Pools There were big flocks of avocets and godwits, and a special one ... More... |
 | Saturday, 18 September 2021 Rye Harbour nature reserve rarely disappoints, and Saturday was no exception. Beautiful weather and lots of birds ... More... |
 | Thursday, 24 June 2021 Orchid spotting at Queendown Warren I thought we might find three or four species, but we found six! More... |
 | Saturday, 19 June 2021 All our favourites, and a first! More... |
 | Wednesday, 19 May 2021 Morning visit to Leybourne Lakes Country Park The sight and sound of nightingales on an unexpectedly sunny morning. More... |
 | Saturday, 15 May 2021 Despite the showers, a rewarding visit to this huge inland reed-bed on the River Stour More... |
 | Saturday, 24 April 2021 Broadwater Warren - return to the outdoors! Our first nature walk after lockdown, to one of our local reserves, produced some unusual sightings More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 January 2020 Field trip - Dungeness RSPB Reserve We saw 40 species of birds on our trip to Dungeness. More... |
 | Tuesday, 21 May 2019 We had a warm and sunny day for our visit to Stodmarsh on 21st May. The marsh frogs were in full voice in the morning, but reed and sedge warblers seemed strangely quiet, and we saw very few hirundines. We did hear and see plenty of both in the afternoon, though. All in all, a pleasant place and good company on a lovely May day. More... |
 | Saturday, 11 May 2019 A total of 88 species were seen at Minsmere including Bar headed goose, Dartford Warbler and Savi's Warbler. An otter was also seen. A great effort by Tonbridge RSPB! More... |
Wednesday, 27 March 2019 Highlights from this trip include seeing a Mediterranean gull and a willow warbler, and hearing a reed warbler. More... |
 | Wednesday, 27 February 2019 It was an enjoyable trip last Wednesday with fine weather and little wind. Amongst the highlights were marsh harrier, ruff, tree sparrow and woodlark. More... |
 | Tuesday, 22 January 2019 The Wednesday group had a good list of 42 species, including pintail - such smart ducks! They also saw redwing, fieldfare, snipe and curlew. More... |
 | Saturday, 15 December 2018 Field trip - Haysden Country Park 36 species were seen at this local reserve, including 8 magnificent goosander and two kingfisher. Well worth a visit! More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 October 2018 The Wednesday group saw the great white egret and three spoonbill. They also saw some fieldfare and had a total of 51 bird species. More... |
 | Saturday, 20 October 2018 A count of 64 species for the Saturday group, including great white egret and spoonbill. More... |
 | Saturday, 29 September 2018 The Wednesday group were lucky enough to see a spoonbill, along with ruff and a Clouded Yellow butterfly. More... |
 | Saturday, 22 September 2018 The Saturday group had 45 species including spotted redshank and water rail. More... |
 | Tuesday, 26 June 2018 Some twelve people enjoyed an evening walk round Broadwater Warren and a successful dusk search for nightjar. More... |
 | Saturday, 16 June 2018 Field trip - Seaford Head and Newhaven The Saturday trip was very enjoyable as it was a warm day though with a very stiff SW breeze. The highlights were the kittiwakes and excellent views of skylarks and linnets. There were a great many wildflowers on the cliff-tops. More... |
 | Saturday, 12 May 2018 The coach trip to Lakenheath was a rewarding visit with fifty birds seen or heard including kingfisher, bittern, hobby, common tern and cuckoo. More... |
 | Sunday, 6 May 2018 Dawn Chorus Walk - Tudeley Woods RSPB Reserve Nine people enjoyed an early start on Sunday to hear the woodland birds at Tudeley Reserve. More... |
| Wednesday, 25 April 2018 Six of us enjoyed a day which was mainly bright and sunny, with a strong south-west wind and only one squally shower! As usual, Rye produced a good variety of species including avocet, Sandwich tern and wheatear. The yellow wagtail was a pleasant surprise. More... |
 | Saturday, 24 February 2018 Shellness and Harty Ferry Raptor Watch Point On a sunny but cold and windy day, 49 species were seen. Highlights were merlin and peregrine hunting and corn bunting. More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 January 2018 Field trip - Dungeness RSPB reserve A really good day for the Wednesday group with golden plover, black-throated diver, smew and Slavonian grebe on their list. More... |
Wednesday, 20 December 2017 Field trip - Sevenoaks Reserve 39 birds were seen by the Wednesday group including siskin and snipe. More... |
Saturday, 16 December 2017 Field trip - Sevenoaks Reserve Saturday group 43 species were seen by the Saturday group. The highlight was close and repeated views of a sparrowhawk flying near the car park. More... |
Wednesday, 22 November 2017 The Wednesday group saw 41 species, with a good number of waders, including grey plover, golden plover and ringed plover. More... |
Wednesday, 25 October 2017 On a beautiful sunny day 35 bird species were seen including golden plover and marsh harrier. More... |
Wednesday, 27 September 2017 Field trip - Pett Level and Hastings Country Park Here's the list of birds seen by the Wednesday group. More... |
 | Saturday, 23 September 2017 Field trip - Pett Level and Hastings Country Park On a lovely warm sunny day, with a light breeze, 56 bird species were seen. The highlights were superb views of spotted flycatcher. Lots of swallows. 12 Buzzards in the air at once. More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 April 2017 The Wednesday group saw 47 species including Whimbrel and Wheatear. More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 February 2017 Field trip to RSPB Rainham Marshes 48 species were seen by the Wednesday group, including marsh harrier, buzzard and snipe. Other highlights include pintail, black-tailed godwit and stonechat. More... |
 | Saturday, 18 February 2017 Field trip to RSPB Rainham Marshes Report from the Saturday group, who had superb views of a short-eared owl, flying right in front of them. Also really good views of a water pipit. More... |
 | Wednesday, 25 January 2017 The Wednesday group saw 50 species on a very cold but dry day. More... |
 | Saturday, 21 January 2017 Highlights: Unquestionably the superb views of bearded tits at Hookers. Close second were the drake ring-necked duck and drake smew. More... |
 | Wednesday, 21 December 2016 Field Trip - Mote Park, Maidstone Six people enjoyed this trip with interesting sightings including several kingfisher, grey wagtail and redwing. More... |
 | Saturday, 17 December 2016 Field trip to Riverside Country Park The Saturday group went to Riverside Country Park near Gillingham, where they had very good views of the ducks, waders and geese. More... |
 | Wednesday, 23 November 2016 Despite the cold wind, a small group went to Shellness on the Isle of Sheppey where they had very good views of snow bunting. More... |
 | Wednesday, 23 November 2016 In view of the cold weather, most of the Wednesday group went to Dungeness in November, so they could shelter in the hides. They saw 51 bird species including Slavonian grebe, a ring-necked duck, goosander and a long-eared owl. More... |
 | Saturday, 19 November 2016 The Saturday group had a great day with excellent views of buzzard, marsh harrier, peregrine, merlin & short-eared owl and common crane. More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 October 2016 Fifteen people came on this trip which gave us close views of water rails, spoonbill, bearded reedlings and little stint. A total of 52 bird species were seen or heard. More... |
 | Saturday, 22 October 2016 Long-billed dowitcher was a first for everybody, but extremely close views of water rail trumped this. More... |
Wednesday, 28 September 2016 It was a sunny autumnal day, but very windy. Twelve people enjoyed excellent views of wheatears, waders and swallows overhead. 42 species were seen altogether, including little stint and yellow wagtail. More... |
 | Monday, 27 June 2016 Field trip to Broadwater Warren for nightjars A grand total of FIVE nightjars were seen, with good views for everyone. A woodcock was also seen and there were glow worms in the car park. More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 June 2016 Field Trip to Splash Point, Seaford and Newhaven Tide Mills Despite disappointing weather of low cloud and drizzle in the morning, we enjoyed seeing the nesting kittiwakes, a raven on the cliffs and a perched common tern. More... |
 | Saturday, 21 May 2016 Best sighting of the day was probably the two drake garganey, but avocets came a close second, especially the young chicks. We did see quite a few cuckoos, both male and female, and it was really good to hear a female's bubbling call, not often heard. More... |
 | Saturday, 14 May 2016 A total of 80 species was seen on this trip with superb view of bittern flying towards Island Mere Hide enjoyed by some. Little & roseate terns were also seen. More... |
 | Wednesday, 27 April 2016 Field Trip to Broadwater Warren and Old Lodge Fifteen of us enjoyed a guided walk round Broadwater Warren, with some then going on to Old Lodge. Highlights were tree pipit, wood lark and redstart for those who went on. More... |
 | Saturday, 23 April 2016 Field Trip to Broadwater Warren and Old Lodge 35 species were seen in total. Woodlark and tree pipit were seen at both sites. There were superb views of a male redstart at Old Lodge, which we watched for ages. More... |
 | Wednesday, 23 March 2016 45 species were seen on this field trip, the highlight being water pipit and good views of Cetti's warbler, peregrine and marsh harrier ... More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 February 2016 Sixteen people went on this trip to Dungeness - a decision having been made to go there rather than Elmley as the Dungeness trip had to be cancelled in January. Highlights include: Slavonian grebe, bittern, great white egret, smew, merlin, long-eared owl and bearded tit. More... |
 | Saturday, 20 February 2016 A total of 53 species were seen on the Saturday trip to Elmley. More... |
 | Saturday, 23 January 2016 A good day with 54 species seen including drake smew & goldeneye. Hannah, the new RSPB intern at Dungeness, joined the group and it was very helpful to have the benefit of her knowledge of the reserve. More... |
 | Wednesday, 16 December 2015 Field Trip - Leybourne Lakes Country Park A very relaxed field trip - 33 species were seen including fieldfare and redwing. More... |
 | Wednesday, 25 November 2015 The highlights of this field trip were short-eared owl, peregrines and marsh harriers. Fifty-two bird species were seen in total. More... |
 | Saturday, 21 November 2015 52 species seen in the teeth of an extremely cold north-east wind. Highlights were brief glimpses of a short-eared owl and excellent close views of snipe, gadwall and teal, sufficient to see the wonderful feather detail. More... |
| Wednesday, 28 October 2015 The rain cleared to a lovely day and the four people who believed the weather forecast were rewarded with sightings of a short-eared owl, large flocks of black-tailed godwit and a rock pipit. More... |
 | Saturday, 24 October 2015 On an overcast day with showers in the afternoon, we saw 66 species with superb views of a kingfisher flying around near the jetty, perching & hovering. Also around 16 seals on Horse Island. More... |
| Saturday, 19 September 2015 A fantastic day with some fantastic birds including whinchat, wheatear, yellow wagtail and spotted fly-catcher...a total of 76 bird species More... |
 | Wednesday, 17 June 2015 Field Trip to Queensdown Warren and Tyland Barn This enjoyable event resulted in sightings of 24 birds, 30 different wildflowers including Lizard Orchid, Bee Orchid and Fragrant Orchid and eight different butterflies including the beautiful Adonis Blue. More... |
Wednesday, 27 May 2015 The Wednesday field trip to Stodmarsh Nature Reserve produced 40 birds including sightings of a red kite. Both bittern and water rail were heard. More... |
 | Wednesday, 29 April 2015 Aroound twelve members enjoyed the trip to Rye Harbour. Highlights were delightfully close views of a female wheatear and the colony of Sandwich terns, interspersed with a few common and just a couple of little terns. Whimbrel were also clearly seen and a couple of us had good views of a recently arrived cuckoo resting in a bramble bush. More... |
 | Wednesday, 25 March 2015 On a bright sunny morning with a light north wind twelve group members enjoyed a field trip to Northward Hill. 48 bird species were seen. Highlights were the impressive rookery and heronry and the buzzards flying low overhead. More... |
 | Wednesday, 25 February 2015 12 RSPB members enjoyed a dry winter's day of birding with some sunshine and light south westerly winds. Highlights were a brief view of a kingfisher, a couple of ruff, several marsh harrier sightings and handsome pintail ducks. More... |
 | Wednesday, 28 January 2015 Ten local RSPB members enjoyed great views of male and female smew, kingfishers perched close by and a male scaup. More... |
 | Saturday, 24 January 2015 The report from the Saturday trip, when it was a sunny day, though there was a chilly breeze, includes drake smew & goldeneye, 3 (possibly 4) bittern coming in to roost, a good selection of wildfowl plus excellent views of 2 peregrines over ARC car park. More... |
 | Wednesday, 17 December 2014 Field Trip to Sevenoaks Reserve and Bough Beech Reservoir Nine RSPB members with one young person enjoyed a fruitful day of birdwatching, with white ibis as the main highlight amongst several good sightings. The weather was kind with a mild day, very light breeze and some sunshine. We did not feel cold even at Bough Beech Reservoir! More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 November 2014 Field Trip to Elmley National Nature Reserve Eight members braved a grey misty day with a light breeze and were rewarded with large numbers of waders and wigeon and a good number of marsh harrier sightings. More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 October 2014 Field trip to Pett Pools and Pannel Valley The Wednesday group saw 45 species, and were delighted to have found a ring ouzel on migration. More... |
Saturday, 18 October 2014 Field trip to Pett Pools and Pannel Valley The five members who went on the Saturday trip saw 48 species including scoter, grey plover and golden plover, ruff and buzzard. More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 September 2014 52 different bird species were seen on this trip, the highlight being the end of the afternoon in warm sunshine when we found little stint and curlew sandpiper on the main pool. More... |
 | Wednesday, 25 June 2014 Field trip to Trosley Country Park Not so many birds on this field trip, but a number of butterflies and many flowers including orchids and chalk downland specialities. More... |
| Wednesday, 28 May 2014 23 species were seen on this field trip - the highlights being redstart and wood lark. More... |
Saturday, 10 May 2014 68 bird species were seen on this trip, with brilliant sightings of the bittern, marsh harrier, bearded tit and hobby. More... |
 | Wednesday, 23 April 2014 Field trip - Grove Ferry and Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve A group of 14 enjoyed a sunny day at Stodmarsh and Grove Ferry with good views of hobby catching dragonfly and reed warblers singing. A pair of bearded tits also put on a short display. More... |
 | Saturday, 19 April 2014 Five of us from Tonbridge local group enjoyed a great day at Rye Harbour. The star bird was undoubtedly the black-necked grebe and a close second, a pair of yellow wagtails ... More... |
Wednesday, 26 March 2014 Field trip - Cliffe Pools RSPB Reserve On a dry sometimes sunny morning with a cold north-east wind, eleven RSPB members enjoyed excellent birding, with highlights of hen harrier and spotted redshank. We finished at 2 o'clock as heavy wintry showers swept in. More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 February 2014 On a rare sunny day with medium winds 16 RSPB members enjoyed good views of waders and wildfowl. Highlights were long-tailed duck, avocet and golden eye. More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 January 2014 An enjoyable though wet day at Dungeness with 39 species seen. More... |
 | Wednesday, 11 December 2013 Field trip - Bedgebury Pinetum A sunny, still afternoon with frost lingering in shady spots and beautiful autumnal colours on the trees in the old Pinetum. All the hoped-for species were seen, albeit briefly in some cases! More... |
 | Wednesday, 27 November 2013 A total of 52 bird species were seen by the group of thirteen, which included three new attendees. Highlights included raptors, large numbers of snipe and close views of reed buntings. More... |
 | Wednesday, 23 October 2013 Field Trip to Reculver and Grove Ferry A surprisingly warm October day but with strong south-westerly winds. Fourteen members had an invigorating walk at Reculver and then headed inland to Grove Ferry. More... |
| Saturday, 19 October 2013 Weather: Windy, rainy but mild. A good selection of waders with 54 species seen and/or heard in total. List compiled by leader Geoff Shoebridge. More... |
| Saturday, 21 September 2013 Field trip to Hastings Country Park and Pett Level Geoff Shoebridge reports on the Saturday field trip, which was a great day, reasonably warm but cloudy, with a brisk breeze at the top of the cliffs. 65 species were seen. More... |
| Wednesday, 15 May 2013 Field Trip to Stodmarsh & Grove Ferry It was a cool day with strong winds and so the eight who came were lucky to see so many summer migrants. The highlights were a perched hobby with scope views and also super views of sand and house martins flying very low near to the hide. More... |
| Wednesday, 24 April 2013 A total of 44 species were seen with a good number of summer migrants. Highlights include: great white egret, little gull, common tern, spotted redshank, swallow, swift, chiffchaff, sedge warbler, whitethroat, willow warbler and yellow wagtail. More... |
 | Saturday, 20 April 2013 60 species were seen. The main highlight without doubt was the superb view of the roosting long-eared owl. There was also a good selection of summer migrants, including whimbrel, wheatear & warblers. More... |
 | Wednesday, 27 March 2013 A group of 8 members ventured out on a very cold day with light NE winds. 50 Bird species were seen and there was a grey seal in the Swale. More... |
 | Wednesday, 27 February 2013 Nine people braved a cold winter's day with a stiff NE wind and temperatures of 2-3 degrees C. Highlights include the waders at Shellness and a merlin. More... |
 | Wednesday, 30 January 2013 A mostly sunny day, though very windy, with 55 species seen in total including Great White Egret, Merlin and Smew. More... |
 | Wednesday, 19 December 2012 Field trip to Sevenoaks Reserve A mild breezy morning, with rain by lunchtime, so only half a day's birding. More... |
| Saturday, 15 December 2012 Field trip to Sevenoaks Reserve Egyptian Geese are a speciality at Sevenoaks, and we had excellent views of Snipe. This was a half-day trip. More... |
| Wednesday, 28 November 2012 Field trip to RSPB Cliffe Pools Some less common ducks about: Pintail, Goldeneye and Scaup ... More... |
| Sunday, 25 November 2012 Field trip to RSPB Cliffe Pools It was the large flocks that impressed, particularly the Black-Tailed Godwits, and so many Little Grebes in one place was unusual. More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 October 2012 Field trip to Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory The previous Saturday's trip was rained off, but better weather allowed a few to see bird ringing. More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 September 2012 Field trip to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve In contrast to the previous Saturday, a challenging day of weather, and no raptors, but excellent views of Spoonbill. More... |