Home

Spring 2010

Dear Group Members,

Have the severe weather conditions experienced this winter pushed our wildlife to the brink of a crisis? In the garden for the first time ever a kingfisher visited the frozen pond desperately looking for food. Bitterns were observed forlornly standing on the ice of our waterways; barn owls were seen hunting over deep snow during daylight and the presence of cettis warblers now seems in doubt. It is of course a little early to make too many assumptions however the legacy of a hard winter may be seen in bird populations for several years to come.

What’s been happening since September? Our Wine and Wisdom evening in October was our best ever. Over 100 people supported us and helped raise over £500 for the society. Thanks are due to David Sadler for once again being our Quiz Master, to Karen and Jane for providing the refreshment, the committee for all their efforts in making the evening a success and not least you the members for your support.

Our indoor meetings got off to a good start and were generally well attended. Perhaps the highlight was David Boag’s excellent presentation entitled ’The Kingfisher take-two.’ The Christmas Social revealed the photographic skills and expertise of some of our members; add in two identification quizzes with a difference and lots of lovely food and this also proved to be a really enjoyable evening. Coming up - David Darrell–Lambert helps us with Raptor Identification, Sacha Cleminson talks about RSPB international work and Simon Ginnaw introduces us to the Wildlife of Mote Park.

For the first time our Outdoor Leader introduced a programme of additional walks designed to appeal to members with differing natural history interests. These are becoming increasingly popular and future outings, both on Saturdays and weekdays, are included in ‘Dates for your ‘Diary 2010.’

Our winter coach trip in November was to the Lee Valley Park and Rye Meads RSPB Reserve. It started out bright and chilly with most wildfowl and woodland species seen however heavy rain soon saw us hurrying to the nearest hide for shelter. At Rye Meads a water rail was nice to see along with the resident Water Buffalo.

The next coach trip is to Lakenheath Fen and Weeting Heath Reserves in June. I expect this to be very popular and advise an early booking.

The RSPB’s new campaign ‘Letter to the Future’ urges politicians, leading up to a general election, to consider the health of the planet for the sake of future generations and aims to get governments to spend more money on saving wildlife and the environment. It is intended to demonstrate to politicians that thousands of people care about nature and want to see it protected not just in the short term but for futuregenerations. If you have not already signed the letter please do not delay and to ensure your signature is valid please complete the data on the back of the ‘post-it’ note letters. A post box is provided at our indoor meetings for your convenience.

Lastly, I would like to thank the committee and all volunteers for their continued assistance and to you the members for supporting the RSPB Maidstone Local Group.

Enjoy the birds.

Dick Marchese
Group Leader