It has been a good spring for yellow wagtails. This summer migrant continues to breed successfully at Elmley.

Harty Marshes was acquired in late 2009, and is a former arable site that we are reverting to grazing marsh. We reseeded the fields late last year and expect to take our first hay crop by September; we will then install new livestock fences to allow us to commence grazing.

The RSPB is in partnership with the Environment Agency (EA) at Great Bells Farm and the farm was bought by EA to compensate for anticipated habitat losses in North Kent. Located between Elmley Marshes and Eastchurch village we have designed the new 195 hectare nature reserve for the EA. The aim of the project is to create high quality wet grassland akin to Elmley Marshes. Approval to create the habitat is expected in August, after which the creation of rills, dams, bunds and scrapes will commence. As the reserve takes shape, we will endeavour to open the site to visitors.

West Kent Reserves
Northward Hill was looking in excellent condition in February. Standing water reflects the RSPB’s hard work and investment on the marsh but the subsequent drought demanded even more careful water management. Efforts were focused to preserve the best areas of the reserve, and lapwing responded accordingly, numbers almost equalled last year’s but half of the birds nested on the wettest 15% of the site. First indications are that redshank and avocet have done less well. Sightings included a tundra bean goose, ring ouzel and black-necked grebe.

Herons took a big hit during the winter freeze of February 2010, but this year they have bounced back. There were 94 nests (a small increase) and nearly 100 juveniles can now be seen feeding on the adjacent marsh. There were 60 little egret nests in the heronry at the first count and we expect this to exceed 100.
The reed beds were battered by the December snows and keeping the rills at good levels is an ongoing battle, but water voles and bearded tits are doing very well. Once again marsh harriers appear to have nested. Northward Hill has been rich with the song of 20 male nightingales. Two cuckoos are holding territories and only two turtle doves have shown. Wood warbler and lesser-spotted woodpecker made a fleeting appearance as treecreeper did last year. Long-eared owls have bred in the wood producing three young.

A lot of work is ongoing clearing glades and removing sycamore in favour of the native species. Elm trees up to 18 years of age survive and are favoured by the white-letter hairstreak. Mature oaks are used by purple hairstreaks that feed on honeydew from aphids. Both can be seen in the wood with a little sunshine and patience.

The weekly volunteer work party has been busy building a rabbit-proof picnic area next to the main visitor car park.

The Medway supports the largest Sandwich tern colony in southern England, little terns have returned and 350 pairs of Mediterranean gulls are the highest on record. The RSPB’s Nor Marsh and Motney Hill support these populations as well as common tern, ringed plover and redshank.

Conditions at Shorne Marshes Reserve were very good early on, but have subsequently dried. Lapwing numbers across the reserve are similar to last year, which is good considering the dry season. Nest cameras were used and confirmed that nine fledged successfully. Redshanks were up following the first survey, but down in the second.

Rye Street, traditionally a dry site, has had five singing corn bunting and there is also evidence that water voles are up on last year. A little gull was seen in March.

I travelled to Cambridge on Wednesday 6 April on what was probably the hottest day of the year so far, arriving at 6.45am. I was third in queue. I booked in and shortly completed my refresher training. I was dressed in my boiler suit and fitted with my harness, I met my co-jumper who then tightened my harness again and walked nervously expectant towards the plane.

We were about to climb on the plane when we were told to come back as the wind had gone above safety levels. We then waited until 4pm before being told that there was no chance of the winds abating. On my return home I looked at the weather forecast and saw that on the coming Friday there was to be glorious sunshine with little or no wind so I rebooked. Yet again I arrived early and this time was second in the queue.

In a short matter of time I had had my refresher training, been suited, harnessed and found myself sitting on the floor of the plane securely attached to my co-jumper. We reached the lofty heights of 12,000 feet, the door opened, we shuffled to the edge and despite being told not to look down, I looked down at my feet dangling in the air. I quickly assumed the correct position for leaving the plane.

Suddenly there I was freefalling at speed towards the ground. The views of Cambridgeshire were amazing with the coast being just visible and after what seemed to be such a short time I felt the reassuring pull as the main parachute opening with a gentle glide back down to earth. The elation I felt after landing is hard to describe as the adrenalin was pumping round my body, I just wanted to climb back onto the plane and do it again.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me for this event which raised a total of £760.

Stuart Banks

When day dawned with fine, sunny weather and the prospect of a fine day ahead, the omens were very good for the annual Autumn Fair held in the Freemantle Hall, Bexley. Our volunteers responded in force and the hall was filled with goods and games of chance. When the doors opened the rush of clients began and we had a steady stream of visitors for the next two and a half hours.

Ken Saxby greeted visitors at the door who paid admission fees of£54.70 (£69.30 in 2009). The RSPB goods stall was staffed by Maureen Thompson, John Taylor and Patricia Large. Their Christmas gifts, cards and bird feeders sold steadily raising £676 (£599.18 in 2009) of which only a portion is profit.

The bottle tombola run by John and Jeanna was again popular and income rose from £65.40 last year to £74 while Chas Parr, aided by Shirley Haynes, had a slight increase on his lucky seven tombola from £75.50 to £76. We were missing our Bird Tombola this year owing to them being out of stock at St Martins. Jeanna also sold pin badges worth£27. We also provided information leaflets from the RSPB collection. John Turner was also able to sell £55 woth of RSPB raffle tickets.

The secondhand bookstall, staffed by Stuart and Frances Banks,Stephen Taylor and Leslie Warner raised £61.14 which was a fall from the excepional total of £106.90 in 2009. Vic and Kath White staffed the white elephant stall with many goods extracted from lofts, garages and the backs of cupboards and took £65 (£74.89 in 2009).

The refreshment room was very popular, staffed by Alan, Jean and Alison Mayes who worked tirelessly to provide an endless supply of tea and coffee with cakes and biscuits. Their efforts produced takings of£44.30 (£58.60 in 2009). The commission from guest stalls selling home made cards, jewellery, key rings, watercolours, sewn goods, home-grown vegetables and home-made jams and pickles provided an additional income boost of £39.66 (£26.35 in 2009).

Thanks must also go to Hilary who ran the candle stall who donated the sales from her stall (£71) to our income. Despite a big drop in donations of goods for our various stalls coupled with a drop in attendance our income after deducting £50 for expenses our profit was a respectable £435 plus commision from the sales of RSPB goods.

My thanks are extended to all our loyal volunteers whose enthusiasm was unabated particularly Tony Banks who organised the event and Chas Parr who organised the volunteers. We look forward to the next fair in the spring.

Stuart Banks

The family of Douglas Marchant have kindly donated several of his birdwatching items to the Group. Books, videos and an ornament were made available for the Autumn Fair. There are also several optical items available for sale to raise funds for the Group and, ultimately, the RSPB.

The items are:

Vismax binoculars 8x30 with strap

Swift Audubon Binoculars 8.5 x 44 extra wide angle (with leather case, strap and instruction book)

Optolyth telescope (straight) 30x75 with leather case, original box and carrying case,

Velbon CX-680 tripod, boxed

Anyone interested in buying any of the above should contact Eric Brown on 020 8300 1637.

Doug's daughter Jane said: "I'm so glad Dad's bird equipment may be of use to the Group. It is what he would have wanted."

Douglas Learmount Marchant was a founder member of the Bexley Group who died in September 2006 aged 88. Group members, friends and family raised around £400, part of which was donated, in his memory, to Elmley RSPB reserve where Doug always cherished visits.

Stuart Banks will close his eyes and think of birds when he makes a parachute jump for charity next month. Stuart, leader of Bexley RSPB Group, will try to overcome his fear of heights and leap from an aeroplane at 13,000 feet in a bid to raise at least £500 for bird conservation. He will freefall 8,000 feet while strapped to an instructor and parachute the remaining 5,000 feet in the jump at March, Cambridgeshire, on Wednesday 27 October. Maybe on the way down he will permit himself a small smile at his triumph over son Martin who insisted he would "chicken out" and cancel the jump.

Stuart, from Plumstead, said: "I wanted to mark the start of my Bexley RSPB Group leadership and celebrate getting my weight down from 15st to 13st 8 in four months. A parachute jump was the first thing I thought of."

He has made no special preparations for his first-ever jump and is hoping to see his brother succeed before the moment of truth. Richard Banks will also be jumping for the first time - to raise money for the Edward Alderton Theatre, Bexleyheath. Both brothers are confident they will collect the certificate awarded as proof of their jumps.

To sponsor Stuart please contact him by email at stuartbans@hotmail.co.uk

Your bird photographs are wanted by Bexley RSPB Group. The Group will hold a photographic exhibition at Hall Place, Bexley, from 7 January to 6 February 2011, and leader Stuart Banks has launched an appeal for photographs. "I believe this is the first time the Group has staged a photographic exhibition and I hope we get plenty of photographs from people of all ages," said Stuart.

Photographs can be of any size, unframed or framed. Exhibitors do not have to be members of the RSPB or the Bexley Group.

Write your name and address on the back of each photograph and include a donation for postage if you want them returned after the exhibition. Photographs must be submitted to Stuart Banks by 12 November 2010. They can either be emailed to stuartbans@hotmail.co.uk or posted to him at 157 Garland Road, Plumstead, London SE18 2PP.

Exhibition opening times will appear here when finalised.

A cloudburst brought fundraising efforts at Well Hall Pleasaunce to a damp and premature end on Sunday 29 August. The event closed early at 3pm as rain swept down but Group income hardly suffered in comparison with 2009. A total of £219.90 raised fell less than £7 short of last year's. There was a definite chill in the air and a keen wind at the 10am start when few people were around.

Numbers increased as the day went on without reaching those of the hot balmy day in June when the Group raised £280 at the same venue. RSPB goods sold by Maureen Thompson and Diane Lelliot moved steadily throughout the day while Jeanna Turner provided information leaflets for the public. John Turner and Stuart Banks obtained another 115 signatures for the RSPB's Letter to the Future Campaign. Frances Banks ran the tombola while George Kalli ran the Children's competion which attracted 85 entries. Katherine from Sidcup won the book prize.

Although the income raised was slightly down on the corresponding event last year it was still a welcome effort:

Pin badge sales rose from £28.70 to £30 Tombola increased from £38 to £98.55 Sales dropped from £160 to £91.35.

Thanks to everyone who assisted on the day.

Stuart Banks

The Bexley Group is sending another cash contribution to RSPB headquarters at Sandy. The committee has approved a new donation of £1,500 for bird conservation. This cash has been raised mainly through raffles, sales, activities at Fairs and coach trips.

Since the Bexley Group was founded in 1978 it has donated a total of£67,500 to RSPB coffers. The Group has asked that the latest donation should go towards improving the new Cliffe Pools RSPB reserve near Gravesend. It has now donated £18,000 towards the cost of establishing this marshland reserve.

Eric Brown

Bexley Group income soared along with the temperature at Danson Fair on July 3 and 4.

Sweating Group volunteers worked tirelessly as the Danson Park temperature hovered around 30°C.

They obtained an amazing 350 signatures for the RSPB's Letter to the Future campaign.

When the forms ran out, volunteers switched to name gathering cards for possible new RSPB memberships and collected over 100 signatures.

Taken together, the total of over 450 signatures for the two projects was the highest name gathering total at a single event for several years.

The Bexley Group has now gathered more than 500 signatures for the Letter to the Future Campaign at various fetes and fairs.

Unable to obtain the popular Bird tombola, an alternative was organised using donated goods. This proved even more popular since last year the Bird tombola raised £95.50 and this year’s effort raised £177.

The sale of pin badges also increased from £46.89 to £52.50, helped by a new display unit and the introduction of some new badges. Sales of RSPB goods also increased from £165 to £252.24.

Thanks to Frances Banks, Tony Banks, Alan and Jean Mayes, Phil and Malachy Wren, John and Stephen Taylor, Gill Page, Julia Maynard, Diane Lelliot, George Kalli, Peter Fox, Maureen Thompson, John and Roberta Cove, Maurice Ewart and Jeanna Turner. Special thanks must go to John Turner for not only helping out on the Saturday and Sunday but also assisting with setting up on Friday and picking up items on the Monday

Soaring temperatures, world cup football and Support the Troops Day in nearby Woolwich all failed to affect attendance at the Friends of Shrewsbury Park Fair on Saturday 26 June. This was the second time that the RSPB Bexley group has attended and although it is not a fund raising event for us the opportunity was taken to obtain a further 80 signatures to the Letter to the Future.

We were also able to raise our profile among local people and explain what we are trying to do as an organisation.

My thanks to John and Jeanna Turner who assisted me on one of the hottest days of the year. We also sold £10-worth of pin badges.

Stuart Banks

On May 14 Stuart Banks was elected by members the new leader of Bexley Group. For those who may not know Stuart here is some background.

There is more than a little of the Greta Garbo or Howard Hughes about Stuart Banks. Both famously shunned cameras and would take extraordinary measures to avoid being photographed. So it is with Stuart. Produce a camera in his presence and he’ll be off and running faster than Usain Boult in an Olympic final. Which explains why there is no picture to accompany this article. Stuart claims he has no passport and even refused to have his picture taken for a photo ID at work.

He says he has a phobia about being photographed and insists pictures of him are rarer than dodos in Danson Park.

We will have to rely on a word picture instead. Stuart declined to give a birthdate or birthplace too but admits to being 58 "this year". He married Frances on the day the notorious heatwave finished in August 1976 and they have two sons: Graham aged 31 is assistant racing manager at Crayford Greyhound Track, while Martin, 29, is a data analyst for EDF.

Stuart, who lives in Plumstead, has been employed by Greenwich Council for 36 years and is currently administration manager for building services there. That means he co-ordinates all the work undertaken by the admin staff, ensuring that Key Performance Indicators are met, indicating problem areas where targets are not met and what measures to take and ensuring admin staff are trained for the work they are expected to do. He is currently involved with the training of staff in a new computerised system being introduced in September or October. In his leisure time Stuart plays darts for the Crayford Arms and badminton at Berwick Road School.

Stuart’s rise to Group Leader has been meteoric. He is a relative newcomer to birdwatching and the Group, joining the RSPB only three years ago with membership a wedding anniversary present. Stuart and Frances had regularly fed birds in their garden and thought membership would help them with identification.

On their first visit to an RSPB reserve in August 2007 Stuart and Frances logged 17 birds including "seagull" and "waders" at Dungeness. Stuart admits they had little knowledge then but it rapidly improved as they broadened their horizons.

Two wardens walks with Howard Vaughan at Rainham Marshes proved instructive and they attended their first Bexley Group meeting. They came under the wing of committee member Maurice Ewart and booked their first Group coach trip to Paxton Pits in October 2007. Explained Stuart: "Maurice was the leader of the trip to Paxton and was the first person we met at the group meeting. After that he seemed to look after us on the trips."

With such expert help, when Stuart and Frances re-visited Dungeness in February 2009 they were able to name 50 different birds. They began volunteering and are now well-known at fairs where they have established a reputation as booksellers.

A year ago Stuart was invited to join the committee as name gathering and membership co-ordinator. His children’s goodie-bags handed out at fairs and events have become collectors items. "While running some of the children's competitions I realised we should encourage youngsters to take interest in all aspects of nature," says Stuart. "So to try and encourage them with birds I started making up bags of information for children who had a go in our competitions. I am not sure how successful these are but I am aware that one child took his bag into school and they used some of the information to join in the Big Garden Birdwatch.

"When I heard the Group would be under threat of closure if no successor could be found for John Turner as leader I had no hesitation in coming forward."

Stuart says he has a mental list of 10 birds he would love to see. It is headed by the hoopoe. One of his most memorable birding moments so far came in Norfolk. "Every time I see a bird for the first time it’s memorable although seeing a bittern while watching golden oriole at Lakenheath was pretty special," he said.

As well as shunning cameras, the group’s new leader confesses to a phobia about walking over bridges and a fear of heights. Yet he’s planning a parachute jump in October to raise funds for the RSPB!

ERIC BROWN

Takings of £280, a healthy £38 increase on last year, rewarded a hardy band of volunteers who supervised RSPB goods sales and games at the Eltham Well Hall Pleasaunce May Fair on Sunday 30 May. The weather was overcast to start with but the arrival of the sun lured a large crowd.

Maureen Thompson sold steadily from her goods stand, aided by Diane Lelliot, who also sold peanuts, bird seed, donated books, plants and toys. Chas Parr ran his ever popular tombola. Stuart Banks ran the children’s competition and was assisted by new volunteer George Ali who also distributed bags of "goodies" to children.

John Turner gathered 120 signatures for the RSPB’s letter to the future along with 20 other name gathering cards while Jeanna Turner answered queries and sold RSPB pin badges.

There were 88 entrants testing their identification skills in the children’s competition. Congratulations to the prize winner – Jacob of Eltham, aged 11, who won the book prize. In all just over £280 was taken for the day – £69 on the tombola, £111.45 on sales, £29 on pin badges, £28.25 on bird seed while a further £42.45 on sales of donated items - a very rewarding effort.

I should like to thank all those who volunteered and worked so hard throughout the day.

Stuart Banks

Karen Sutton has returned to the Crossness Nature Reserve in Thamesmead after a year working in East London. Touring parties of RSPB Bexley members were often welcomed to the Thames Water-owned site by Karen who has been appointed Crossness Nature Reserve Manager.

Karen supervised the transformation of grazing marshes, reedbeds and wetland habitat at Crossness into an award winning reserve during a five year stint as Conservation Warden before leaving last summer. The 41-year-old went to work for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, managing sites at Three Mills Island, Bow Creek and East India Dock Basin. But Karen began to pine for the unique habitat at Crossness and its energetic band of volunteeers, some of whom also belong to RSPB Bexley. She also missed running events and educational visits but mostly missed the Bexley area and its wildlife. Karen, from Crayford, has been plunged in at the deep end. Day-to-day site management tasks line up alongside managing a group of volunteers, school visits, liaising with partners and stakeholders, organising community events, writing a newsletter, working with contractors, writing a new site management plan and grappling with a new IT system. Thames Water are creating new reedbeds and ditches at Crossness to receive water voles (the UK’s fastest declining mammal) currently in a captive breeding programme at Wildwood near Herne Bay. They were removed from Crossness and transferred to Wildwood during development work.

*To join the Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve Scheme, which provides access to the wildlife-sensitive ‘Protected Area’, costs £5 for one year or £10 for three. Contact Karen at karen.sutton@thameswater.co.uk or call 07747 643958.

Eric Brown

Although purple herons have struggled in Europe over the last few decades, experts say the numbers of breeding purple herons are expected to increase in the UK in the future. PC Michael Laidlow, Environmental Crime Coordinator at Kent Police, said: “This is a popular area for birdwatchers and the local community so I would urge anyone in the area who sees any suspicious activity to call the RSPB or Kent Police on (01622) 690 690.”

While the eggs are being brooded there is little for visitors to see but once they hatch the RSPB hope to set up a special viewing point for spectators.

The purple heron, closely related to the larger and widespread grey heron, can reach 90cm in height with a wingspan of up to a metre and a half. In Continental Europe the purple heron usually breeds in colonies in reedbeds and feeds in wetland areas on insects, reptiles and amphibians as well as other small animals. The European population of purple herons winters in Africa.

Meanwhile the RSPB is calling on the government to call in the planning applications for proposed expansion at Lydd Airport, near Dungeness. The local authority Shepway District Council controversially consented the applications in the face of a recommendation to refuse given on environmental grounds by the councils own planning officials. So far over 10,000 representations have been made to the Government Office of the South East to ensure this decision is scrutinised in a full public inquiry.

Stuart Banks was elected new leader of the RSPB Bexley Group by members at the annual meeting on Friday 14 May. He becomes the Group's seventh leader in its 31-year history and succeeds John Turner who stood down at the end of a five year stint.

Stuart, a committee member with responsibility for Memberships, had to impress RSPB London office at a formal interview before his name could go forward for election by the Group. His original interview date was scrapped when the Volunteer Development Officer left at short notice.

Martyn Foster, RSPB London office manager, finally gave the green light for Stuart to be considered after an interview on Thursday 29 April - only 14 days before the Group annual meeting. This was the first occasion a potential Bexley Goup Leader had been subjected to the new RSPB selection process.

At the interview Stuart outlined his plans for the future of the Bexley Group which he will reveal shortly.

Eric Brown

Takings dropped significantly at the Group Spring Plant and Craft Fair in Freemantle Hall, Bexley, on Saturday 1 May. Income plunged by more than £200 although admission fees were up on last year.

Plants appeared for sale and filled the hall together with the tombola, lucky sevens, book stall, white elephant stall and craft stalls. Ken Saxby collected the entrance fees and took £51.79 slightly up on last year’s figure of £50.

The plant stalls supplied and staffed by Anna Staple, John and Jeanna Turner and Leslie Warner sold steadily throughout the morning taking a grand total of £285.81 (£454.05 last year). The sales stall staffed by Maureen Thompson, Patricia Large and Sylvia Say took a total of £130 (£138.51 last year). The ever popular bottle tombola staffed by Anthea Reynolds drew much support taking £98 (£103 last year), Chas Parr’s Lucky Seven taking £64.80 (£59.81 last year).

The book stall run by Stuart and Francis Banks took £61.80 (£50 last year), commission from the craft stalls was £36.45 (£17 last year) and the White Elephant stall, a new addition, manned by Tony Banks took £59.09. John and Stephen Taylor were available to relieve weary stallholders.

The tea, coffee and cakes were provided by Alan and Jean Mayes and made £41.51 (£31.90 last year). Stuart Banks was available for new memberships.

The overall take was £699.90 (£217.32 down on last year’s total of£907.22) and after deducting the fee for hire of the hall and expenses of £48 we made a profit of £651.90. In addition the sales of £130 will produce a commission to be confirmed later by The Lodge. A great effort all round. Many thanks to all our volunteers who helped so willingly on the day and we look forward to the next fair in the autumn.

Special thanks are due to Tony Banks and Chas Parr for their organisation and preparation of the event. We are very grateful for the donation of plants from Bexley Garden Centre a new donor who has acquired Stuart’s Garden Centre, Bexley Heritage Trust, Homebase at Orpington and Dartford and B&Q at Sidcup and Eltham the latter also being a new donor this year.

John Turner

Visitors to Cliffe Pools RSPB reserve are being urged to act as vigilantes and report any illegal activity they see. The site has been hit by damage to and removal of notice boards, other vandalism and illegal motor cycle riding. If anyone witnesses such incidents, or any others, they should call police on 01795 477055 or Jason Mitchell at the RSPB Northward Hill office on 01643 222480.

Jason Mitchell is the new Cliffe warden, joining from Kent Wildlife Trust and bringing a wealth of experience gained at Sandwich Bay. He will focus on the management of North Kent Marshes reserves around the Hoo Peninsula.

Adders Picture: RSPB-images

Adders Picture: RSPB-images

Recently logged at Cliffe have been shore larks and ring ouzels plus garganeys while Mediterranean gulls may be breeding. A spoonbill visited in April. Barn owls are present and short-eared owls may be breeding. Adders sighted include a pair of males jousting.

Work to come in 2010

Eric Brown

Bexley finished sixth in a participation table of 32 London Boroughs behind Bromley, Croydon, Hillingdon, Havering and Barnet. Bromley recorded 2,502 participants (245 children).

The woodpigeon is now firmly established as Greater London's number one garden bird, moving steadily up the list one position each year from number four in 2007. However its lofty position may be down to the cold snap that adversely affected smaller birds like goldcrest and long-tailed tits this year.

Nationally nearly 530,000 people took part in the survey, counting over eight and a half million birds with 73 species recorded in 280,000 UK gardens. Some interesting trends were revealed with London's declining house sparrows enjoying a slight increase in sightings.

Numbers of almost all small to medium birds in the Top 10 most common London garden birds were up compared with 2009 and 2008, with the exception of starlings. Flocks of these probably flew out of gardens to collectively seek food and shelter on playing fields, parks and the countryside surrounding Greater London.

The cold weather was also responsible for many more sightings of countryside birds like fieldfares and redwings, in London, but these mostly favoured large open spaces and failed to make it into the Top 20 garden sightings. As well as redwings and fieldfares, other members of the thrush family, including blackbird, song thrush and mistle thrush, were seen in higher numbers this year, also looking for food.

Some of the UK’s most familiar species continue to suffer huge declines. In just the last five years alone, house sparrows have declined by 17 per cent and starlings by 13.7 per cent.

ERIC BROWN

The RSPB is appealing for your help to demand a public inquiry into possible expansion plans for Lydd Airport. They feel an expanded airport would threaten birds and other wildlife at Dungeness, a popular destination for Bexley members, and want people to write calling for a public inquiry.

As reported earlier on this website, Shepway District Councillors voted to approve expansion plans for Lydd Airport against the advice of their own council officers, their own ecological consultants and Natural England, the Government’s nature conservation advisor. The RSPB has been objecting to the expansion plans since 2005 as they would increase passenger numbers from the current 4,000 a year to half a million per year.

The Airport is next to the Dungeness Reserve and near the Dungeness to Pett Levels Special Protection Area (SPA), designated for its internationally important bird populations, and the Dungeness Special Area of Conservation (SAC), designated for its great crested newt populations and rare shingle habitat.

If approved, the Airport’s expansion plans will be disastrous for the area. They could irrevocably damage the area’s internationally protected wildlife, including internationally important populations of birds and a range of plants and other wildlife. Some species at risk are unique to the Dungeness area.

A larger airport would also degrade the wider environment, not least through the extra pollution that will be generated by both the additional flights and the increase in road traffic from people getting to and from the airport.

The RSPB believes that the decision by Shepway Councillors potentially contravenes key elements of UK and EU laws. Additionally, the decision is both regionally and nationally controversial and will have significant impacts outside the immediate locality of the airport. Taken together, these factors means that the airport expansion plans should be called in by the Secretary of State for determination at a Public Inquiry:

To add your voice to the call for a public inquiry, please write to:

Jennie Gilks
Sustainable Communities Directorate
Planning Casework Manager (Surrey and Kent)
Government Office for the South East
Bridge House
1 Walnut Tree Close
Guildford
GU1 4GA

Please refer to the three reasons given above in your letter.

These are the key concerns the RSPB raised when objecting to the Airport’s proposal.

Managing the bird strike risk
The Airport will need to reduce the risk of bird strike by controlling birds and managing nearby habitats. They produced a draft plan outlining how this will be achieved, however the RSPB has serious concerns as the plan lacks sufficient detail to fully assess the potential impacts on the internationally important bird populations. For example they have not provided information on the location and scale of habitat management required, and the impact that shooting and dispersing hazardous species would have on non-target species which use the internationally protected habitat.

Pollution
Air pollution is already known to be high in the Dungeness area. The undoubted increase from additional aircraft movements and road traffic will add to this. It is likely to cause irreparable damage to the lichens and mosses, which underpin the fragile ecology of this unique area and are legally protected because of the SAC designation. The Airport claims that the new flights will not cause enough pollution to damage the important plants, but we believe they have failed to take proper account of the existing and future background pollution levels.

Disturbance
The increased numbers of flights will increase both noise and disturbance to the wildlife and people trying to enjoy the area’s tranquillity. The noise envelope will have direct impacts on parts of the SPA and the airport has not demonstrated that this will not have negative impacts on important bird populations.

Adverse impact on protected wildlife
The RSPB does not believe that the airport has demonstrated that there will be no adverse impact on the area’s internationally important wildlife. This is something that they are required to do because of the high level of legal protection for the area’s wildlife. If they fail to do so, they must prove that there are no alternatives to their plans and that they are of overriding public interest. The RSPB does not believe that they could meet either of these tests.

Stuart Banks, Membership and Name Gathering Co-ordinator, has stepped forward to volunteer for the role of Bexley Group leader.

Stuart has completed an application form of several pages in length and submitted it to the RSPB London Office in Petty France where an informal interview with Amy Symons, Volunteer Development Officer for the London Region, will take place in April. If he gains her approval regarding his suitability for the voluntary post, Stuart will then be proposed as the new leader to the membership who will vote on his adoption at the Annual General Meeting on14 May at Hurstmere School. Hopefully this should be a formality.

Formalisation of this process is something that has changed in the last five years as I did not go through the same procedure when I volunteered for the post.

Since becoming a member of the committee Stuart has been enthusiastic and innovative in his role and the group has become the leading London Group for recruiting new members. In addition we have been mentioned in despatches as the second most successful group in the country in the collection of signatures for the Bird of Prey campaign using name gathering cards. He has also introduced the distribution of free children’s goodie bags at the functions we have attended this year, some of which have been taken into schools by the children and used as teaching aids. When you see the zeal with which Stuart distributes these bags and his rapport with both parents and children in selling our children’s competition you can appreciate his suitability for the role of group leader.

He has also been the innovator of the monthly news sheet with its quiz at the indoor meetings. We look forward with anticipation to future innovations.

The whole group are very thankful that its future could be guaranteed and we all give Stuart our best wishes for his interview.

John Turner

Shepway District Council shocked conservation organisations with their
decision on March 3 to approve plans for the extension of Lydd Airport. The RSPB, along with a huge range of other organisations and individuals, has expressed disappointment and concern at the decision by Shepway District Councillors to ignore recommendations of their own officers, Natural England and legal and policy requirements by approving the plans.

Chris Corrigan, RSPB director for South East England, said, “It is difficult to understand how the Councillors can have reached this decision. The Council’s own officers and their independent expert ecological advisors have pointed out the problems and recommended rejection. Natural England, the Government’s statutory advisors on nature conservation, also recommended rejection. In the only public polls carried out, local people recommended rejection. And yet, Shepway District Councillors have decided to approve the plans.

“The RSPB believes that given the wide ranging level of popular and technical opposition, the expansion plans must now be called in for public inquiry so that the facts can face a full and open public examination.”

The RSPB has stated from the outset that Lydd is an entirely inappropriate location for an enlarged passenger airport. As well as being in an amazing place for wildlife, much of which is protected, it has no public transport links and the road network struggles to cope with existing traffic levels, never mind any increase that would have resulted from the expansion plans.

A large increase in air traffic could have an adverse effect on birds at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve as well as those that inhabit nearby Romney Marshes.

Eric Brown

It will come as no great surprise to those kept awake by their yelps and screams, those who discover bulbs uprooted and holes in their lawns or those who sniff their strong aroma. Bexley, it seems, emerged as the most popular London Borough for foxes in an RSPB survey called "Make your Nature Count".

In fact foxes were seen in Bexley gardens more frequently than cats! The fox was reported from 89.34 per cent of Bexley gardens in the summer survey while the cat came second with 86.89 per cent and grey squirrel third with 71.73. After that came the amphibians with frog (47.54 per cent) and toad (21.31). Then came birds with sparrowhawk (12.30) and kestrel 4.10. Hedgehogs may be declining but they were still recorded in an encouraging 3.28 per cent of Bexley gardens with badger a regular visitor to 0.82 per cent. Participants from 11 London Boroughs contributed to the survey with reports received from 161 Bexley gardens.

Bexley’s fox reporting rate far exceeds the national UK average of 27.7 per cent and the Londonwide average 70 per cent. The fox came third in London gardens behind cat and grey squirrel with badger surprisingly reported from as many as 2.43 per cent of gardens.

In the 1950s foxes knew their place – in the countryside stealing farm poultry. They quickly adapted to take advantage of the blooming fast food industry and moved into towns, raiding litter bins for discarded scraps. Free lodgings were available, too, beneath sheds and outbuildings. The dangers of hunting or an angry farmer’s gun have been removed and motor vehicles are now the urban foxes’ greatest enemy. Magpies, who took the same route, were reported in 63.11 per cent of Bexley gardens. Nationwide, more than 62,000 people took part in the survey with one in 10 participants seeing badgers and a quarter of gardens home to foxes and hedgehogs.

More information on Make Your Nature Count at rspb.org.uk/naturecount.

*This article first appeared in the Bexley Times.

ERIC BROWN

The search is on for a new leader of the Bexley RSPB Group. Current leader John Turner, who officially succeeded David James at the 2005 annual meeting, is to stand down after five years in the chair.

If no successor is appointed at the May agm the Group may face closure after 32 years.

At last year’s annual meeting Mr Turner revealed that no-one had answered his appeal for a volunteer to join the committee and "learn the ropes" with a view to becoming the seventh Bexley Group leader. He said a new leader was "wanted urgently".

RSPB regulations state that no Local Group can continue to operate without a leader and Mr Turner added: "The Group has 12 months to find a new leader or it will then be under notice of closure by the RSPB".

Two volunteers have now expressed an interest in the post and members will be asked to elect a new leader.

Eric Brown

The RSPB is involved in talks about managing Pagham Harbour reserve and acquiring more land on Sheppey. West Sussex County Council, which runs Pagham Harbour reserve, first approached the RSPB in Autumn and information is now being gathered on what would be required to supervise the popular reserve successfully.

Pagham Harbour has been a regular venue for Group coach outings over many years, most recently in October 2009 (for report and bird list go to Trip Reports). Chris Corrigan, the RSPB’s South East Regional Director, said: "We are keen that somewhere as important as Pagham Harbour has a secure future, both for its wildlife and for the many people who enjoy it. We look forward to pursuing that goal in the talks ahead."

A piece of Harty Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey is also a focus for the RSPB. Harty Marshes is a small parcel of land to the east of (but not directly connected to) the Capel Fleet viewing point which is regularly visited by members to see harriers, merlin, peregrine, barn owl and occasionally rough legged buzzard and bearded tit as well as other species. It was bought by South East England Development Agency.

The RSPB wants to restore the wet grassland habitat but it is too small and the access too difficult to be a visitor site. Its acquisition will safeguard another piece in the big Sheppey jigsaw rather than becoming birdwatching site in itself. The RSPB wants birdwatchers to continue visiting Capel Fleet or the Swale NNR knowing that some of the birds they will see in the future will be due to their improvements on nearby parcels of land.

It has been reported that the RSPB is hoping to acquire Great Bells Farm near the Elmley reserve to provide extra habitat for waders and wildfowl. There is no public access – except through a prison!

Eric Brown

The RSPB is issuing an open invitation for people to watch a show with a cast of thousands - completely free.

Waders, ducks and geese flock to the Medway over winter and you can witness this amazing spectacle from a viewpoint near Gillingham between 13 and 21 February. The area is of international importance because it attracts up to 300,000 birds which feed on the exposed mudflats at low tide during winter.

The stunning display can be seen from Horrid Hill at Riverside Country Park near Gillingham where there are sweeping views of the water. RSPB personnel will be on hand with telescopes and binoculars to help visitors get a closer look at Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Grey plover, Redshank and Oystercatcher. One of the greatest attractions is the flocks of Dunlin, sometimes numbering thousands, flying across the mudflats.

David James, of RSPB North Kent Marshes, said: “Watching a flock of swooping and sweeping dunlin is like seeing a feathered whirlwind. The feeding flurry as they move quickly along the mud is quite spectacular. This makes a great day out for families during the half term. It gets kids outdoors and excited about nature.”

Despite impressive flocks of waders and wildfowl across the North Kent Marshes, many of these species are now Amber Listed as Species of Conservation Concern. This means numbers have declined by at least 25 per cent over the past 25 years or the habitats populations rely on are scarce or under threat.

The event runs from 10am to 3pm on the dates above. Parking & entry free. For more information call 01634 222480, email: northkentmarshes@rspb.org.uk or visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves

Volunteers from the Bexley Group will be at two venues to distribute forms for the Big Garden Birdwatch taking place over the weekend of 30 and 31 January.

An event in conjunction with Bexley Heritage Trust will be held at Hall Place on 30 January from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. We shall have telescopes trained on birds feeding on the seed and nuts provided, have bird food and feeders available for sale and BGBW forms will be handed out. We shall also have membership forms and information about the RSPB and the Bexley Group as well as free goody bags for children.

Those wishing to collect forms earlier can do so at Pets at Home in Crayford on Saturday 23 January. Survey forms will also be available in some libraries.

Records were set in 2009 with more than 551,000 people taking part across the UK. Nearly 280,000 parks and gardens were surveyed, and 8.5 million birds counted. The more results received, the more the RSPB understands what is going on with garden birds. Since 1979 there have been worrying drops in garden bird numbers; three quarters of the starlings have gone and more than half the house sparrows. This shows the importance of this survey and with public participation the RSPB can help save the birds that are part of our daily lives.

In Bexley we are hoping to raise the numbers of participants from the 983 adults and 82 children who took part last year, in order to exceed the number who took part in 2007 – 1165 adults and 141 children.

John Turner