Indoor Meetings 2025/26

 September 17th A Journey to the Hebrides, by Paul Hale

We stop off in Teesdale for Black Grouse on our way north to the Inner and Outer Hebrides including St Kilda, a dual World Heritage site for both its culture and nature. On our journey we see a range of species from Golden Eagle to Corncrake, from Otter to St Kilda wren, not to mention a range of breeding seabirds. We also look at the lifestyle of the St Kildans and somehow end up at a whisky festival on Islay.

A short AGM will be held this afternoon.

October 15th Camouflage and Pretence by Melvin Smith

Why is that creature that colour? How do they know what colour they are?

A thought provoking, and sometimes amusing, look at the way evolution has produced the creatures which we see around us today.

November 19th Birds of Southern Morocco-from High Atlas snow to Sahara sands by John Buckingham

John is a very popular speaker, and we welcome him back for another presentation on an area I guess not many of us know about.

No meeting in December

January 21st 2026 The reintroduction of Choughs to Kent.

Suzanne Kynaston from Wildwood Trust's Education Dept will give a talk and update.

February 18th Birding in Kent, a video diary, by Nick Smith.

A new speaker for us with an interesting presentation.

March 18th The Wild Sea is my Home by Andre Farrar

Andre is well known to us; he is updating us on the state of the seabirds around our coast.

April 15th To be arranged, members suggestions welcomed.

We also plan to have outdoor field meetings, details will be sent about 2 weeks prior to the walk, with a reminder 1 week beforehand.

Move to Bluesky

 As we were blocked by 'X' we now have a BlueSky account to replace 'X'

ashfordbwc.bsky.social

A short History of ABWClub and a look at the History of Migration by Gill Hollamby - Wednesday 16th April -

Our talk this month is by Gill Hollamby and will cover a short history of the Ashford Birdwatchers Club followed by a quick look at the History of Migration. Looking at when, why and how migration is monitored. 

The afternoon starts at 2.30 and finishes by 4.15. Please bring a cup for refreshments.

Worth Marshes, the recreation wetlands by Vikki Paeple. March 19th

 Our next indoor meeting is on March 19th. It is a talk on Worth Marshes, the recreation wetlands by Vikki Paeple. Vikki is site manager for Worth Marshes and she will explain the actions the RSPB are taking for habitat creation, restoration of the wetlands working to create a mosaic of habitats for wildlife,

The afternoon starts at 2.30 and finishes by 4.15. Please remember to bring a mug for refreshments. 

 

The Wonders of Migration - Wednesday February 19th

Our speaker next Wednesday February 19th will be Andre Farrar who will be talking about "The Wonders of Migration". Andre used to work for the RSPB in many roles including Species Protection Warden, Conservation Officer and Public Affairs Manager. He has visited us before and his talks are always  interesting and topical.  Andre is also Chair of Kent Ornithological Society.

The meeting will  be at the WI Hall, Faversham Road, Kennington starting
at 2.30 pm and finishing  at  4.00 - 4.15 pm.  Admission is £4.  

Please remember to bring a mug for tea/coffee.

January 15th Indoor Talk. - Hothfield Heathlands by Ian Rickards

 Happy New Year to All our Followers.

The speaker at our next indoor meeting on Wednesday 15th January will be Ian Rickards, Kent Wildlife Trust Area Manager, and he will be updating us about some of the changes at Hothfield Heathlands.  

Jenny and Ted have kindly offered to do the refreshments but could you please bring your own mug so they don't have to wash up as well!

DVDs about birds will be available for members to borrow and we will
also be holding a raffle so any prizes would be gratefully received.

An Introduction to Senegal by Gill Hollamby

 PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF SPEAKER.

Our talk this month is an Introduction to Senegal by Gill Hollamby. She will give an introduction to some of the common and more sought after species including Vultures, Gulls, Scissor-tailed Kites and Quail Plover.

The talk will take place in the Kennington WI Hall at 2.30 on Wednesday 20th November. Everyone welcome, a charge of £4.00 is made to cover costs.