Welcome to the Spring edition of Local RSPB Group’s newsletter. To find out about Haysden’s superstar visitor, plan some wildlife gardening, and learn more about the migration of the swallow, read on...

Dear supporters, welcoming Zach to the group. The signs of coming While we’ve been unable to meet face to face, our spring are all around us WhatsApp and Facebook groups have been doing a now. Blackbirds, good job keeping us in touch, bringing news of dunnocks, thrushes, lesser spotted woodpecker at , red-breasted wrens and great tits are merganser at and exotics like glossy ibis singing, woodpeckers are and great white egret at Haysden, together with drumming and ‘yaffling’, interesting snippets of information. For instance, and yesterday I heard my why do birds with orange features, like redstart and first chaffinch of the redshank, have ‘red’ in their names? It seems that season. The snowdrops, ‘orange’ as a description of the colour only came crocuses and daffodils are brightening our verges, into use in English after the fruit was widely and strange boilings in the ponds show that frogs available. Before that ‘red’ was the closest word. are jockeying for the best mating positions. Strangely, even now, descriptions of birds often Buzzards seem to be more obvious in spring, too. A describe aspects as ‘red’ when ‘orange’ would be week ago, taking my essential exercise as dusk was closer. darkening over the common, I heard a mew and Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has been looked up. Two buzzards were circling low over the helping to keep the group going in this difficult time. leafless trees, silhouetted by the nearly full moon Fingers crossed for September! shining hazily through a thin mist. Magical. Best wishes, It’s a hopeful time, and we too hope that we’ll be able to resume some outdoor activities from April Martin onwards. Unfortunately, though, we have had to cancel the May coach trip. We’re looking at the possibility of running a coach trip in the autumn (see p2 for details). And we’re fully expecting that, should things go according to the Government’s plan, we’ll be able to resume a full programme from September. It looks like most of the speakers Lesley had booked for last season will be able to give their talks a year later. There’ll be another newsletter before then with the programme included. Your committee has continued to function remotely, and we have some good news there. Zach Shiels has joined the committee as Campaign Lead, a position which has been vacant for some time. He will be helping us identify what conservation issues – local or national – we, as a local group, can most effectively get involved in, and how we can make a difference. As the AGM had to be conducted via a Zoom video group call last year, we will hold a formal vote on Zach’s membership when we are able to hold the AGM in person. Please join us in

The London Resort theme park has come a step Wardens at the RSPB’s Broadwater Warren reserve closer to reality with the Planning Inspectorate’s near Tunbridge Wells have high hopes that the decision to accept the project for the examination Dartford warbler will be recorded as a breeding phase which is expected to last 12-18 months. species on the site this year. Up to five have been Dubbed the UK’s Disneyland, the attraction would seen over the winter including a singing male. see a large proportion of the Swanscombe Another species on the target list is the redstart. Peninsula concreted over, rendering it inhospitable They are known to nest not too far away at the Old to the wildlife that currently lives there. Among the Lodge reserve on the Ashdown Forest so nestboxes thousands of invertebrates found there are more are being made to give them a suitable home. that 250 species of conservation concern. Birds recorded include a wide range of wildfowl and waders, bearded tits, marsh harriers and many species passing through on migration. Orchids can be found during the summer months. Insect charity Buglife is running a campaign, working together with the RSPB and the Wildlife Trust, to save this urban wilderness from the developers. Visit their website, buglife.org.uk/campaigns/save-swanscombe- marshes/ for more information and follow the link to sign the online petition at 38 Degrees. *STOP PRESS* On March 11, the Swanscombe Peninsula was granted Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status in recognition of its importance for invertebrates, breeding birds and geology by Natural England. This means any future planning decisions must recognise its ecological significance. Crane numbers in the UK hit record levels last year since becoming extinct here nearly 400 years ago. Last year saw 64 breeding pairs and a total population in excess of 200. The newsletter couldn’t exist without the content so many thanks go to all those who have written pieces The springboard for the success came in 2010 for this issue. Thanks also go to those behind the when the Great Crane Project began creating and scenes, carrying out proof-reading, printing and improving habitat for the species as well as distribution. releasing hand-reared youngsters on the Somerset Levels and Moors. If you’d like to help with the next one, please get in touch with the editor, Lesley Ribbens. New ideas especially welcome! For advertising, contact Don Douch, 01732 366660 or [email protected]. The Tonbridge Local Group’s planned coach outing The deadline for the Autumn issue, which will to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s London include the programme of events for the new Wetlands Centre in May has been cancelled due to season, is June 15, 2021. Covid-19 restrictions. An alternative trip in October may go ahead if there is sufficient interest, perhaps to the original destination or another site such as Minsmere, depending on booking availability. To The Tonbridge Local Group’s quiz night has been express an interest, contact Doreen Dixon, put on hold for this year. We hope to resume the [email protected] or 01892 832130. fundraising event in 2022. The Tonbridge Local Group is now registered with The tragic killing of Sarah Everard has sparked easyfundraising, which means you can help us for much debate regarding women’s safety. For lone free. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us birders in the field there can be uncomfortable when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – moments but others may not realise they are at no extra cost to you. All you need to do is sign up causing concern. Read Martin Harper’s blog from and remember to use easyfundraising whenever March 17, ’Being a good man: a reflection on what you shop online. It’s easy and completely free! can be done to ensure the countryside is welcome These donations really mount up, so please sign up and safe for all’, for some food for thought: to support us at easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/martinharper tonbridgerspb/. Simply scroll down the webpage for an explanation of how it works. The RSPB will receive 100 per cent of the donations raised in this way. The 2,000 hectare Cotswold Water Park (CWP) has been given SSSI status by Natural England, an unusual accolade for a completely man-made site. Straddling the borders of Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and The RSPB and fellow conservation organisations Gloucestershire in the upper Thames Valley, the are calling on the Government to take more action park comprises 177 lakes of which just 10 to protect nature. While Prime Minister Boris previously held the SSSI designation. Created as a Johnson has told world leaders of the need to result of mineral mining activity, the CWP boasts reverse nature’s decline by 2030, there is no nationally important wintering and breeding wetland commitment in law to do this in the UK. birds. Breeding species include little egret, little The campaign, organised by Wildlife and ringed plover and nightingale. Countryside Link (see wcl.org.uk), is asking the PM to amend the Environment Bill to set a legally binding target to reverse the loss of nature in England by 2030. It has been well documented, for While the 2020/21 season of nature talks and walks example in the 2019 State of Nature report, that might have fallen victim to the global pandemic, wildlife is in trouble with many species in decline plans are afoot to resume indoor meetings in and some heading towards extinction. September. First to take centre stage, we hope, will be Simon Ginnaw with his presentation on Birding in the Heart of Europe. Wednesday September 15 is the date to remember. An online conference is taking place on the subject It is possible that nature walks may resume sooner of reintroduction of species and rewildling the than this if Government restrictions and RSPB landscape. The R&R Summit will be available to guidance allow. For up-to-date information please stream live from home on Saturday April 10 2021. visit the website or sign up for monthly emails by Hosted jointly by Dorset-based charity the Birds of sending your request to [email protected]. Poole Harbour and the Self-Isolating Bird Club, presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin will front the event. Content will cover conservation projects and topics such as how beavers can shape The oldest known wild bird in the world has hatched the landscape, whether rewilding is the answer to a chick at the age of 70 years. The Laysan albatross reverse biodiversity decline and the White Stork youngster hatched on February 1 in the Midway Project. Further details will be released over the Atoll national wildlife refuge in the North Pacific. The coming weeks. Visit birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk for mother, known as Wisdom, was ringed in 1956 and more information. is believed to have had over 30 chicks during her lifetime.

The glossy ibis is a bird of south east Europe, most common in the Mediterranean area and Balkans. Classed as a vagrant in the UK a few individuals do visit most years; in 2020 two birds took up residence on the RSPB’s reserve at Dungeness and could be seen regularly on the ARC pits. As a species, with their long legs, long, decurved bill and chocolate brown plumage, they are not hard to recognise. So finding a curious bird on my regular walk along the cycle track around Haysden Lake, it did not take me very long to realise that I was indeed looking at a glossy ibis. It was late afternoon on December 13. Rain and wind had kept me indoors all day and exercise was very necessary. My plan was to do my usual circuit following the cycle track from the Haysden car park, checking on the goosanders on the lake itself and a group of both barnacle and white- fronted geese that were frequenting the wet fields behind. The visibility was poor with rain still falling when I rounded a corner, began to scan the field and realised that I was looking at a rarity. With only a mobile phone to hand I managed a quick record photo before phoning around my birding pals. Haysden Country Park has become my local patch and I know it well. When we first moved to Tonbridge it was a matter of squeezing through broken fencing to gain access. For several years now I have completed a breeding bird survey for the Borough Council and over the years I have got to know the seasonal comings and goings of species and what to expect on my visits. Every now and then I have got a surprise but finding the glossy ibis tops my personal Haysden list. It still makes me smile. The ibis stayed around for a couple of months, feeding in that same field, and was seen by a good number of other local birders. When disturbed it would fly up and over the hedge. On January 2, I went for another look and not finding it in its usual field, peered through the vegetation on a hunch that it might have a roosting site beside the lake....and there it was. This time I did have my camera.

Haysden Fact File Haysden Country Park spans a range of habitats including grassland, marsh and woodland, as well as Haysden Water, Barden Lake and a stretch of the River . The area plays a crucial role in protecting Tonbridge from flooding as it houses the Leigh Flood Relief Barrier and Storage Area which comes into play when the threatens to burst its banks. The park is a Local Nature Reserve and, in part, a Site of Nature Conservation Interest as well as being a Natural England accredited park and winner of the Green Flag Award. Historic interest can be found in the Straight Mile and the Stone Lock, remnants of the unsuccessful Medway Navigation Canal dating from the 1830s. Sand and gravel were extracted until 1988 after which the area was turned into the country park we see today. Barden Lake is a popular spot for feeding the ducks and there are nature-themed sculptures to entertain younger visitors as well as a play area at the main car park. Regional Cycle Route 12 passes through the park on its way from to Penshurst. Tonbridge Town Sailing Club is based at Haysden Water and triathlon swimmers can be seen training in the lake too. It is also a popular area for dog walking and fishing. The park gets very busy at times so for the best birdwatching pick your time carefully. Early mornings and evenings are best. You never know what you’ll find. It’s cryptic crossword time again! In this grid, solutions without clues (marked **) are bird names that include a colour. They can all be found in Britain, some more scarce than others. No colour appears more than once. Across 1, 18. Easy time to measure long distances? (5,4) 4. See 15. 6, 4d. Turned pole or two useful for DIY job. (5,4) 9. Sign of unfinished stinger. (7) 10. They may appear strangely as grime. (7) 11, 7d. ** (6,7) 12. Dependable law revised in beginning. (8) 14. With time, rural cuts evolved to become systemic. (10) 15, 4a. ** (4,3) 18. See 1a. 20. ** (10) 23. Difficult to get seaside speciality in cafe?(4,4) 24, 22d. ** (6,6) 6, 23d. ** (6,5) 27. ** (7) 7. See 11a. 28. Sounds as if Kinks tunesmith intended fancy clothing. 8. Tries again hoping for a better outcome? (5) (7) 13. Heard spicy pool equipment trimmed plump subjects. 29. Entire acre periodically in family. (5) (10) 30. See 26d. 14. Reserved start. (3) 31. Laugh at eye blemish - too soon? (5) 16. Camel keeper hides big beast. (3) Down 17. Scattered ash is not surprise. (8) 1. Daring central blue animal house. (5) 19. Shorten a card game? (6) 21. Speech written on envelope? (7) 2. Nurture the French right? It sounds menacing. (7) 22. See 24a. 3. First class incision? (8) 23. See 6d. 4. See 6a. 25. Like Hazel may have wild ideas. (5) 5. Physically impossible to measure journey. (4,6) 26, 30a. Is his stamina magnetic? (4,3)

Answers to the Kent places quiz that appeared in the last newsletter are as follows: 1. Ash; 2. Wye; 3. Vigo; 4. Acol; 5. Seal; 6. Deal; 7. Lydd; 8. Bean; 9. Thong; 10. Dover; 11. Chalk; 12. Snave; 13. Sidcup; 14. Strood; 15. Ditton; 16. Eccles; 17. Hadlow; 18. Warden; 19. Shawn; 20. Teston; 21. Ide Hill; 22. The Moor; 23. East End; 24. Ashford; 25. Ashtead; 26. Welling; 27. Hartley; 28. Chatham; 29. Charing; 30. Cooling; 31. Bearsted; 32. Dunkirk; 33. Margate; 34. Selling; 35. Benover; 36. Wigmore; 37. Toy’s Hill; 38. Kilndown; 39. Fairseat; 40. Saltwood; 41. Sandwich; 42. Sandgate; 43. Postling; 44. Matfield; 45. Ramsgate; 46. Cliffs End; 47. Hook Green; 48. Colt’s Hill; 49. Sevenoaks; 50. Gravesend; 51. Dungeness; 52. Kingsdown; 53. Appledore; 54. Tenterden; 55. Tonbridge; 56. Dymchurch; 57. Cranbrook; 58. Mereworth; 59. Yorkletts; 60. Sole Street; 61. Folkestone; 62. Gillingham; 63. Swanscombe; 64. Underriver; 65. Canterbury; 66. East Peckham; 67. Brands Hatch; 68. Paddock Wood; 69. Rough Common; 70. Isle of Grain; 71. Broadstairs; 72. Nettlestead; 73. Badgers Mount; 74. Tunbridge Wells; 75. Cheeseman’s Green. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Berry-bearing trees and shrubs will attract robins, thrushes and blackcaps, amongst others, and perhaps even a roving flock of waxwings if you’re very lucky. With over 400 varieties, holly has a lot to offer. Tolerant of most soil types, the majority are Close encounters with nature can be uplifting and evergreen. Choose a female for berries. A good one bring joy to our daily lives. So providing habitats to is J C van Tol which is a self-fertile female form. attract nature closer to our homes benefits both Contoneasters too, are many and varied. As well as ourselves and the creatures we invite. The last providing fruit in the autumn and winter, the flowers newsletter looked at making a pond; this time we’ll are very attractive to pollinators. However, take care look at some planting ideas. not to get varieties which are now proving invasive in the wild (see Plantlife.org for a list). Berries of Gardening for wildlife can begin with simple steps. rowan trees are very popular with starlings and Be a little less eager to tidy things up, let the grass blackbirds. Red- or orange-berried varieties are grow a little longer, favoured over pink or white. make piles of dead sticks and leaves to Providing flowers for pollinators in every month of give insects the year is a good aim. The Royal Horticultural somewhere to hide. Society has downloadable lists of Plants for If you don’t want to Pollinators on its website, rhs.org.uk, with hundreds replace your lawn entirely to choose from. Helpfully, suitable plants stocked in with a wildflower meadow, many garden centres and nurseries carry a Plants consider leaving some for Pollinators label. I’ve had particular success with uncut areas around the the winter honeysuckle, Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter edges. When I mow the beauty’ which is invaluable to bees emerging on lawn, I’ve started to alternate warmer winter days when little else is available. which end of the garden I cut so Hellebores are good value too with their long there’s a longer area where the daisy flowering season, followed by pulmonarias, and clover flowers are available to our primroses and ajugas as spring progresses. local bees. Summer brings far more choice, buddleia being perhaps the most well-known shrub for butterflies but again this is proving invasive in the wild. I would While a lawn might be a good feeding area for recommend allowing some herbs to flower, blackbirds and starlings, the more variety you can marjoram and thyme being particularly popular in add to your garden the better. A hedge is the most my experience. Umbellifers and scabious are nature-friendly boundary. Otherwise, cover fences wonderful for bees and butterflies. In my last garden and walls with climbing plants; add trees and shrubs I grew Knautia macedonica and left some of the to give some height and fill out the lower areas with seedheads standing which invariably drew in the flowering plants. That way you’ll be providing cover goldfinches. Lavender too proved good. Looking to for roosting, nesting and hiding from predators, as autumn, asters, dahlias and sedums (or well as a variety of food in the shape of nectar, hylotelephium as they are now sometimes called) seeds and fruit, not forgetting leaves, dare I say it, are good choices. In all cases, single flowers are for caterpillars and other nibbling mini-beasts. preferred over more elaborate double blooms. Choosing exactly which plants to grow can be a No article on plants for wildlife would be complete complicated task and it’s certainly something I without singing the praises of ivy. Flowering during agonise over at times. When planting a tree you autumn with fruits ripening from November through really do want to get it right first time so this does to January, it’s a valuable source of food for wildlife. require careful consideration. Decide what function It’s evergreen so can provide cover for nesting birds you want it to play. Would you prefer an evergreen and will grow in some difficult positions in the or some autumn colours? How much space is garden such as sunless walls and on steep banks. available? Check your soil is suitable – not all trees Cultivated forms provide some more interesting leaf will grow in the heavy clay prevalent in the colours and shapes than the native ivy but I have to Tonbridge area. You don’t have to stick to native confess I am not a fan of ivy in any of its forms. It is species, the horticultural industry has come up with tolerated in my garden for the benefits it brings but a huge number of plants that are available, each not exactly welcomed with open arms! with pros and cons for wildlife. occasion, a lone fieldfare perched at the top of the tree for twenty minutes or more. In early December, I was making a final clearance of fallen leaves whilst above me a robin was singing At times this autumn the garden has seemed quiet its winter song from its regular perch in the tree. with just sparrows, which are, of course, always Blackbird and magpie could also be heard not far welcome, blue tits and squirrels. While there has away, giving the day a real winter’s feel. However, a been a lack of starlings in the garden, quite large hedgehog had decided that in early December it flocks were present nearby on rooftops, aerials and was still warm enough for daytime strolls across the the green opposite my house. However, there have lawn. This happened on three separate days. It still been special moments. looked as if it might be eating peanuts carefully One November afternoon a female pheasant walked buried by the squirrels. A large individual, it around the garden before flying off to another plot appeared fit and well. and being spotted by another keen birdwatcher who During the last month of the year, I had seen twenty lives nearby. This one was definitely a first for me. different bird species in the garden. This included Also in November I spotted a redwing in the brief glimpses of coal tit, greenfinch, song thrush hawthorn tree, no doubt taking advantage of the and wren. Another year over but much to look berries, as were fieldfares in December. On another forward to with the coming spring.

I think the figures make for quite interesting reading. In 2017 I recorded 176 species, 203 in 2018 and 161 in 2019. But 2020 clocked up just 153 species. The lack of RSPB talks had clearly made an impact. My main television programmes are the BBC’s Last year, 2020, was my fourth year of armchair ‘Watches’ ie, Springwatch and its Winter and birdwatching. If you are not familiar with this past- Autumn spin-offs, together with Countryfile and time, it involves keeping a list of species seen on Gardeners’ World. Most of my sightings are television and, in normal times, at the nature talks included in the RSPB Birdwatcher’s Field List. Birds held by the Tonbridge RSPB group. not listed there that I have recorded include great white and cattle egret (both of which were seen regularly on field trips pre-Covid), roseate starling and white-tailed sea eagle to name but a few. Occasionally, one can see more exotic species like the bird of paradise, flamingo, glossy ibis, pelican, honey buzzard and many others. Armchair birdwatching is not as good as physically watching birds but while we have been unable to visit reserves and the wider countryside, it has been a good substitute.

The Tonbridge Local RSPB Group would like to keep your details to send you further information about group activities and the work of the RSPB. If you want to amend or update your details or you do not want us to use them in the way stated, please contact a member of the committee. The first swallow of spring is such a welcome sight. Their return journey from their wintering grounds in South Africa sees them cross or, in some cases, go round, the Sahara Desert. It is believed that they continue north through Morocco, eastern Spain, across the Pyrenees and then western France. Swallows typically migrate during the daytime, covering around 200 miles each day at around 20mph, although they can reach a speed of 35mph. It’s a hazardous time with the risks of starvation and exhaustion as well as stormy weather. Last year a freak storm in the Mediterranean during April was blamed for lower than expected numbers of swallows, swifts and martins arriving in the UK, although this is only anecdotal with no solid scientific evidence to back up this claim. So when you spot your first swallows of the year, marvel at the journey just completed, then enjoy the sight of these beautifully agile harbingers of summer.

Group leader: Martin Ellis, 26 Byng Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 8EJ, [email protected], 01892 521413 Secretary / Group sales: Bernice Catt, 60 Dry Hill Park Road, Tonbridge, TN10 3BX, [email protected], 01732 353620 Treasurer: Tamsin Day, [email protected], 07764 894622 Newsletter editor / Programme secretary: Lesley Ribbens, 116 Higham Lane, Tonbridge, TN10 4BW, [email protected], 07989 476652 Advertising and publicity: Don Douch, [email protected], 01732 366660 Campaign champion: Zach Shiels, [email protected]

Membership secretary: Doreen Dixon Website editor: Martin Ellis Facebook: Anne Waddingham Quiz night organiser: Liz Mason

Thank you for choosing to receive your copy of the newsletter by email. This saves money and allows the group to donate more funds to the RSPB for vital conservation work. If your email address changes, please contact Martin Ellis, [email protected], with your updated details.

The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654