Tuesday 3rd November - Visit to Walland Marsh and the surrounding rea.

Keith has kindly offered to lead a visit to Walland Marsh and Scotney Pits on Tuesday 3rd November.

There are increasing numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings arriving, some Tree Sparrows, and hopefully some of the many Little Gull's that have been around, and the Ring-necked Duck and the Scaup will remain. If we have time we could see Goldeneye on the RSPB reserve. We will need as few cars as possible, and any RSPB members should bring their membership cards along. We will meet at the cinema car park at 09:00, consolidate car shares and aim to leave at 09:15.

 Please let Hannah know if you would like to come and will be meeting at Cineworld.

 

Please also let her know if you plan to travel to the Marsh separately.

ABWCinfo@birdlover.com

Look forward to a good day

 

November 3rd Field Meeting

Time to dust our binoculars ...

 Keith will be leading a field meeting on the morning of Tuesday 3rd November.

 The local site and likely birdlife will be confirmed nearer the time.

Please put the date aside if you are interested. 

October Indoor Meeting - To Iceland and back

 

To Iceland and Back - by Brian Nobbs

The unique, beautiful and ever-changing volcanic landscape of Iceland is home to many birds and other species.  

Brian will talk about the birds that are present over the summer, and discuss their complex patterns of migration as the seasons change. Expect pink footed geese, puffins and an array of divers, ducks and waders.

 

As usual, we will meet at the WI Hall in Kennington at 2.30pm.  Please remember to bring your own mug for teatime.

 

We look forward to seeing you.

Indoor Meeting - 16th Sept. Introduction to Bolivia by Gill Hollamby

 Our first indoor meeting is on Wednesday 16th Sept. at 2.30pm. There is an annual subscription of £28 or £5.00 on the door. Refreshments are provided but please bring your own mug. 

This talk is an introduction to the Chaco region of Bolivia and covers birds, mammals and other creatures, plus a short trip to the Beni area for Pink River Dolphin and Blue-throated Macaws . 

Big Kent Bird Migration Day - 27th September

 For Information. The KOS is holding a Big Migration Day with activities at three major locations, Sandwich Bay, Samphire Ho! and Dungeness. Everything is free but some activities need to be booked, so, check out the KOS website for more details.

Subscriptions for 2026/27

 In April members voted to subscribe annually to provide a more predicable cash flow for the club.

 

Annual membership is £28 per person (£56 for couples).

 

Please make your payment to:

Ashford Birdwatchers Club  
Sort code 20-02-62 
Account number 90117390

 

Please reference the transaction with your surname and 'subs'

 

If you would like to pay the annual sub by cheque or cash, please do so on the door.

If you prefer to attend on a 'Pay as you Go' basis - or are bringing a guest to a meeting - entry is £5 per person on the door.

A quick reminder that all indoor meetings are at the Women’s Institute Hall, Kennington, 2.30pm - 4.15pm. 
Refreshments are provided. Please bring your own mugs.

Many thanks, and we look forward to seeing you.

  2026/2027

We have booked the following speakers for our 2026-27 winter Indoor Meetings. All meetings are held at the Kennington WI Hall, Faversham Road starting at 2.30pm. 

Please bring your own drinking utensil.

2026

September 16th An Introduction to Bolivia by Gill Hollamby

A short AGM will be held this afternoon

October 21st Iceland and Back by Brian Hobbs

November 18th Hambrook Marshes by Michael Walter

2027

January 20th Wild Canadian Rockies by Martin Davies

February 17th Bird Video Diaries by Nick Smith

March 17th My Life with Birds by Melvin Smith

April 21st Nightingales Sing Well Tonight - Two Hundred Years of Nature in the North Downs - by Andre Farrar

All meetings are held at the Kennington WI Hall, Faversham Road starting at 2.30pm.

Please bring your own drinking utensil.

Nightingale Walk 6th May

 The next field outing will be on Wednesday 6th May at 19.00  meeting at Faggs Wood, Hamstreet to listen to Nightingales. We also hope to hear Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler and possibly Turtle Dove. Faggs Wood is part of Orlestone Forest and is in Malthouse Lane. The grid reference is TQ 986 347 and there is a notice at the car park entrance which says Orlestone Forest, Forestry England. Please contact Heather if you plan to attend  and also if you would like a lift. 

Indoor Meeting - 15th April

 The next indoor meeting on Wednesday 15th April at the WI Hall, Faversham Road, Kennington,  will be a talk by Dr Clive Nuttman entitled "Kent's Chalk Grasslands: our Rainforests!" Dr Nuttman, who is a biologist currently working as a freelance environmental educator, has given us many talks in the past.  This talk is about the chalk habitats of Kent which are of global diversity importance  and introduces the geological history and rich flora and fauna of this unusual environment. 

The afternoon starts at 2.30 and finishes by 4.15. Admission is £4 which includes tea/coffee and biscuits. Please bring your own mugs. 

There will also be a raffle and all donations are welcome!

Happy Christmas and a Bird Filled New Year

                                                                                                                       

 Happy Christmas to all our Members

and

A Bird Filled and Peaceful New Year.

We hope to see you all next year.

Field Meeting - 11th December

The field meeting on Thursday December 11th will be at the Woods, Eastling looking for Crossbills and possibly Hawfinches meeting at the Cineworld car park at 09.15 to consolidate cars. if you prefer to make your own way, park at St Mary's Church, off Kettle Hill Road, Eastling at 10.00 but please let me know. After the recent rain, the terrain may be slippery so boots/ wellingtons are advisable. 

November Indoor Meeting

 Our November Indoor meeting will be on Wednesday 19th November. John Buckingham will be our speaker on Wednesday 19th November talking about "Birds of Southern Morocco- from High Atlas snow to Sahara sands."

The meeting will be at the WI Hall, Faversham Road, Kennington, starting at 2.30 pm and finishing by 
4.15 pm. Admission is £4 which includes refreshments. 

Please bring your own mug. 

There will also be some  bird guide DVDs for members to borrow free of charge.

November Field Trip

 Our next Field trip will be on Thursday 6th November, meeting by the cinema in Eureka Park at 9.15 am.

Further details will be advised nearer the time. Please contact us if you are going to attend.

Camouflage and Pretense

 Our next indoor meeting is on 15th October and is a talk on 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.

This will be at the WI Hall, Faversham road, Kennington, starting at 2.30 pm and finishing by 4.15 pm. Admission is £4 including refreshments.

Thank you

 Following our September meeting, which featured an excellent talk by Paul Holt on the Hebrides, we held our AGM followed by thanks and a presentation to our outgoing Chair, Jenny Jackson. Jenny has led the. Club for many years, planning interesting talks and visits and guiding it through COVID and the use of online talks and meetings. We were pleased to present Jenny with a print of Bullfinches by Stephen Message, a book token and a garden voucher. 

Indoor Meetings 2026/27

  2026/2027

2026

September 16th An Introduction to Bolivia by Gill Hollamby

A short AGM will be held this afternoon

October 21st Iceland and Back by Brian Hobbs

November 18th Hambrook Marshes by Michael Walter

2027

January 20th Wild Canadian Rockies by Martin Davies

February 17th Bird Video Diaries by Nick Smith

March 17th My Life with Birds by Melvin Smith

April 21st Nightingales Sing Well Tonight - Two Hundred Years of Nature in the North Downs

All meetings are held at the Kennington WI Hall, Faversham Road starting at 2.30pm.

Please bring your own drinking utensil.

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.