Events

Coach trip to RSPB Elmley Marshes, Kent

Location: RSPB Elmley Marshes, Reserve, Kent

A coach trip to RSPB Elmley Marshes for raptors, wintering swans and geese. Don't forget to bring along your refreshments for the day and your RSPB Membership card for free admission!

Site details:

If you thought that there was no wilderness left in the south east, come and have a look at Elmley Marshes! The two-mile drive across the vast wetlands, managed by the Elmley Conservation Trust, to get to the reserve car park is an exciting start to your visit.

From the car park, (with toilets), it is a mile walk alongside the marshes down to the first hide, which overlooks a wonderful 'scrape', a shallow pool where avocets breed in the spring and thousands of wading birds drop in from the nearby Swale mudflats.

There are then four further hides, and everywhere at Elmley Marshes the sky is often filled with birds throughout the year - flocks of curlews or golden plovers, teals and pintails, starlings spooked by the merlins, hen harriers, marsh harriers and short-eared owls which hunt daily in winter.

Book early with Barrie Stockwell, who is your leader today. Tel: 01992 584133

Time: Coach departs - Ware at 7.30am, Broxbourne at 7.45am

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group Meeting - The Wildlife of Northern France - Brittany, Normandy & Pays de la Loire

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible.

Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.
EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Tonight we welcome Roy Croucher, with his illustrated talk on the wildlife of Brittany, Normandy and Pays de la Loire. Roy is a former RSPB member of staff.

His talk will include a tour of some of the region's hotspots, many of which are not mentioned in the numerous books published about the area. Birds mentioned will include middle-spotted woodpecker, little bustard, whiskered tern and bluethroat!

Visit Roy's website at- http://www.northernfrancewildlifetours.com/

Tonight we also have our general Bring 'n Buy tables, light refreshments are available, we will also have our monthly raffle & 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: 01992 715634 Terry Smith (group leader)

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk around Cedars and Theobalds Park

Location: Meet in the Cedars Park car park, Theobalds Lane, Cheshunt. Map ref: OS166 TL356013. The meeting point is approx 5 mins walk from Theobalds Grove BR Station.
EN8 8RS (Google map)

Our monthly walk, today around Cedars & Theobalds Parks, (toilets available), for woodland birds and possibly, golden plover.

Our leader today is Mike Oakland.

Time: Meet by 10 am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Mike Oakland on 01992 429170

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Car Trip to Breckland sites

Location: Meet in the picnic area on A1065, the road to Lakenheath, just north of the roundabout at Barton Mills, Suffolk. Map ref: OS143 TL72974




IP28 6AE (Google map)

A car trip to a few Breckland sites for wintering passerines and other birds. We will meet in the car park by 9am for breakfast (optional!) and leave at 9.30am. Your leader today is Phil Blatcher.

PLEASE NOTE: In case of any changes to the travel arrangements, it is essential to check with Barrie Stockwell before joining any car outing, tel: 01992 584133.

Time: 9 am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Phil Blatcher on 01992 441024

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Christmas Group Meeting

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.
EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Our Christmas group meeting - Phil Blatcher presents 'Costa Rica Easy', a 40 minute digital tour of this very interesting country.

This is a social evening with buffet provided by members, cold drinks are provided. We also have our Grand Christmas Draw, 6 monthly 100 Club Draw, our monthly raffle plus quizzes.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

New Year walk at Abberton & Tollesbury, Essex

Location: Meet at 9.30am on Layer Breton causeway, Abberton, off B1026 (map ref: OS168 TL950165)

Annual New Year walk at Abberton Reservoir (toilets) then Tollesbury (toilets), with belated New Year lunch (bring your own) out at the Point. This trip always produces a long and varied list of wintering birds.

Your leader today is Derrick Ling.

PLEASE NOTE: In case of any changes to the travel arrangements, it is essential to check with Barrie Stockwell before joining any car outing, tel: 01992 584133

Time: 9.30 am

Price: no charge, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Derrick Ling on 01920 466563

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Car trip to RSPB Rainham Marshes

Location: Meet in the RSPB Rainham Marshes reserve car park. (map ref:OS177 TQ552792)

RM19 1SZ (Google map)

Car trip to RSPB Rainham Marshes (toilets), for winter visitors, wildfowl & gulls. Your leader today is Terry Smith.

There is an innovative visitor centre, with huge picture-windows that look out across the marshes. It is full of environmentally friendly features and already boasts a handful of prestigious architectural awards. There is also a shop, café, a new wildlife garden and children's adventure play area.

There are a network of nature trails currently in place, which are utilised for specific guided walks and events. There are approximately 3.5 miles plus of nature boardwalks, all designed for wheelchair and pushchair access.There is one bird hide and several open viewing areas overlooking the reserve. Please bring your RSPB membership card for free admission.

PLEASE NOTE: In case of any changes to the travel arrangements, it is essential to check with Barrie Stockwell before joining any car outing, tel: 01992 584133

Time: 10 am

Price: no charge, but donations welcome

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group Meeting - Ian Rowlands presents the wildlife of 'Spitzbergen'

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible.

Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

At tonights group meeting, we welcome back Ian Rowlands, co-founder of Speyside Wildlife, with some incredible video footage. showing us the arctic birds and mammals of 'Spitzbergen'.

Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

General Knowledge Quiz

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Our very popular Annual General Knowledge Quiz, ticket price includes a cold supper but remember to bring your own drinks!

Early booking essential, tickets will be available from October 2009, when table prices will be announced. We will also have a fund raising raffle.

Further details from Phil Blatcher on 01992 441024.

Time: Doors open at 7pm for a prompt start at 7.15pm

Price: Ticket prices to be announced

Booking essential

Telephone: Phil Blatcher on 01992 441024

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk around Glen Faba lakes

Location: Meet in Dobbs Weir car park,(toilets), Dobbs Weir Road, opposite the Fish and Eels Pub, Hoddesdon.
Map ref: OS166 TL385082
EN11 0AS (Google map)

Our monthly morning walk. This month we will be walking around Glen Faba lakes looking for goosander and other wintering birds. Your leader today is Phil Blatcher.

Site details:
Glen Faba consists of two lakes, both man made, and are the results of the once thriving sand and gravel extraction industry that existed in the Lee Valley, an industry producing high quality aggregate products for the construction trade.

Glen Faba Lake is the largest of the lakes, a mature gravel pit approximately 120 Acres. The other to the North West of the site is known locally as 'Stort Pit'.

Good places to view birds in winter, Cormorants roost on the Southern most Island, Glen Faba Lake. Some bank re-profiling has been carried out in the north west corner of Glen Faba lake.

Time: 10am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Phil Blatcher on 01992 441024

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

A winter family walk with WEX members from RSPB Rye Meads

Location: Venue to be agreed nearer the date

A family walk with the local WEX group (ages 6 to 11) from RSPB Rye Meads. There will be a small charge. Venue to be agreed.

Please book in advance with the WEX leaders at Rye Meads on 01992 708383.

Time: 11am to 1pm

Price: To be agreed

Booking essential

Telephone: WEX leaders on 01992 708383

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Coach trip to NWT Cley, N Norfolk

Location: NWT Cley reserve, N Norfolk

A coach trip to the NWT's flagship reserve at Cley, North Norfolk. There is an entrance fee for non-NWT members. Please remember to bring along your refreshments for the day as we lunch out on site NOT at the visitor centre.

Your leader today is Mike Oakland.

Book early with Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133.

Site Details:
NWT Cley Marshes, internationally reputed as a premier birdwatching site, perched on the north Norfolk coast, has a well-deserved reputation as one of the UK's premier bird watching sites and there's always something to see, whatever time of year you visit. The view from the visitor centre across the Marsh to the sea is breathtaking.This environmentally friendly visitor centre incorporates an observation area, interactive interpretation including a remote controllable wildlife camera, a café, and sales area.

The pools and scrapes, all within easy view of the hides, are flush with unusual and interesting birds throughout the year, and both experienced and new birders will find much to enthral them here. Meandering along the boardwalks and glimpsing the birdlife through the reeds is pure pleasure. Four hides (with excellent wheelchair access) provide bird watching within metres of the pools where the birds congregate.

Time: Coach departs - Broxbourne at 7.30am, Ware at 7.45am

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group meeting - Action for Wildlife in Hertfordshire & Middlesex

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Tonight we welcome back HMWT's Tim Hill, with Ali Hauser, to update us on the work of the Trust on sites such as Amwell, King's Mead & Rye Meads, and talking about their aim to conserve, increase numbers and raise awareness of Water Voles.

A reminder that Ali will be leading a walk for us on 6th June at Silvermeade, check out the programme for more details.

Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Annual Beached Bird Survey at Tollesbury

Location: Tollesbury in Essex, along the Blackwater Estuary

Survey work is an essential part of conservation activity, providing vital information on populations and habitats to management and lobbying bodies, enabling them to act with the authority that comes from possession of hard data.

The South-East Herts Group has been participating in the Beached Bird survey for the RSPB, for more than thirty years, monitoring a stretch of the Blackwater estuary in Essex, at Tollesbury. We routinely walk the same section of coast, searching the shoreline for dead birds. This count provides an important baseline dataset for assessing the effects of unusual weather phenomena or oil spills (its original purpose) on seabird mortality around the North Sea. Records are submitted to RSPB regional office in Norwich.

Come along and join organiser Ted Bell today.

Time: Further details from Ted Bell

Price: no charge

Telephone: Ted Bell on 01920 467809

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk at Tyttenhanger gravel pits

Location: Meet in the Bowmans Lake car park, (toilets available) at end of unmade gravel pit road, off westbound carriageway of A414, just before the Total petrol station. (1.75m from the junction with A1)

Map ref: OS166 TL192054

This month our walk is in the London Colney area at Tyttenhanger gravel pits, looking for birds of flooded workings, farm and woodland.

Your leader today is Mike Oakland

Time: meet by 10am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Mike Oakland on 01992 429170

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Coach trip to RSPB Dungeness & the coast

Location: Dungeness, Kent
TN29 9PN (Google map)

This month we visit RSPB Dungeness and the coast, for early spring migrants and wintering birds. Please remember to bring along your RSPB membership card for free admission. Don't forget to bring your refreshments for the day!

If you haven't been to Dungeness, nothing can quite prepare you for this landscape - mile after mile of shingle, wild and weird! Dungeness's position, jutting into the English Channel, makes it ideally placed to watch for migrant birds arriving or departing.

The nature trails lead around a series of hides where there is an excellent chance of seeing bitterns and bearded tits in winter.

There is plenty to be seen at other times too. Dungeness's position, jutting into the English Channel, makes it ideally placed to watch for migrant birds arriving or departing, with wheatears, swallows, martins and warblers regularly seen. The first sand martins of the season should be seen in mid-March, closely followed by wheatears, black redstarts and yellow wagtails.

In the morning, at the coast we will visit 'The Patch', the warm water overflow area from the power station, where we hope to see many gulls and seabirds. We usually lunch here on the shingle ridge before visiting the RSPB reserve.

Your leader today is Terry Smith.

Book early with Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133, this is always a very popular trip!

Time: Coach departs Ware at 7.30am, Broxbourne at 7.45am

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group meeting - The birds and flowers of Yorkshire and Northumberland

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Tonight we welcome Bruce Bennett, with his talk on 'the Birds and Flowers of Yorkshire and Northumberland'.

The first part of his talk, Yorkshire, covers a Potters Bar RSPB Group trip including visits to Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Head, Ravenscar, Castle Howard, Hexton Bank flowers, the C.M Robb Reserve and the Yorkshire Belle boat trip out of Bridlington. Then we will visit Northumberland, the Farne Islands,Floors Castle (just in Scotland) Cragside,Alnick Garden and Holy Island.

Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk around Waterford Marsh and Heath

Location: Meet at Bulls Mill, off A119, 1.5 miles N of Hertford - (OS166 TL315158)

A morning walk around Waterford Marsh and Waterford Heath - the Marsh, for wetland birds, such as Kingfisher, while the Heath, old gravel workings, should produce some early migrants.

Your leader today is Barrie Stockwell.

Time: by 10am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Coach trip to Stodmarsh NNR, Kent

Location: Stodmarsh NNR, Kent

We return to Stodmarsh NNR, Kent for arriving summer visitors and passage migrants. In April 2008 we saw 80sp here, including marsh harrier, hobby and wood sandpiper. Don't forget to bring your refreshments for the day!

Your leader today is Barrie Stockwell. (Toilets are available on the reserve)

Stodmarsh is an important wildlife site supporting a number of breeding and migrating birds, some of them rare. The reserve developed when coal mining subsidence formed marshland with large reedbeds, lakes, ditches, meadows and wet woodland.

The reedbeds and lagoons of the reserve are important for wildfowl. Mallard, gadwall, shoveler and pochard ducks breed at the site in most years and in the winter they are joined by teal, wigeon, water rail, white-fronted goose, and tufted duck. Other birds seen at the site include reed and sedge warbler, bearded tit, bearded reedling, bittern, hen harrier, great crested grebe, corn bunting and coot. In the autumn and spring large flocks of martin, swallow and wagtail use the reserve as a stop-over. The site also had the first breeding record for Cetti's warbler in the UK.

As well as birds the reserve also supports a number invertebrates; some of them - such as the shining ram's-horn snail - being nationally rare. Moths seen at the site include the reed dagger, obscure wainscot and silky wainscot. A number of rare plants are also found here such as the carnivorous greater bladderwort, greater spearwort, whorled water-milfoil, soft hornwort, bog bean, sharp-leaved pondweed, and rootless duckweed

There are bird hides and an observation mound at the reserve accessed by a network of footpaths. One path follows the Great Stour river for much of its length within the reserve area. There is a 1.3 km easy access nature trail - with a number of interpretation panels.

Book early with Barrie on 01992 584133

Time: Coach departs: Ware 7.30am Broxbourne 7.45am.

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group Holiday to Romania

Location: Romania

We have a group holiday planned for Romania, 25th April to 5th May. Contact organiser Phil Blatcher for more details.

Time: to be agreed

Price: To be confirmed

Booking essential

Telephone: Phil Blatcher on 01992 441024

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

AGM and group meeting

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Our short Annual General Meeting, followed by a talk from Joan Childs, RSPB Site Manager, on the 'Year at Rye Meads'.

Site Details:
'For a great family trip, visit this delightful wetland reserve beside the River Lee. Rye Meads is a favourite with walkers, birdwatchers and photographers too. There are wheelchair-friendly trails, and 10 hides (come just to see the amazing murals!) look out over the reedbeds, wet meadows, open water and artificial sandbanks, which are a great place to spot the blue flash of a kingfisher.

Common terns nest on specially-created rafts during the summer, and these days you're likely to hear the explosive song of the Cetti's warbler, a recent arrival here. If it is wildlife really close you are after, then butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies put on quite a show.

In winter, you can often see snipe, green sandpipers, shovelers, gadwalls and tufted ducks - in fact, there's always something to entertain you here. We have a really welcoming visitor centre, where you can watch the bird feeding area for close-up views of garden birds.'

Please support our Plant Bring 'n Buy tables tonight. Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk at Fishers Green for warblers and nightingales

Location: In the Fishers Green (overflow) car park, Stubbins Hall Lane, off Crooked Mile, B194. (OS166 TL377032)
EN9 2EF (Google map)

This month our morning walk is around the Fishers Green area for warblers and nightingales. This is the best spot in our area for nightingales, last year we heard 8 singing birds and had good views of 9 hobbies hunting over the lake. Our leader this morning is Terry Smith. PLEASE NOTE the earlier start time of 9.30am.

Site details:
Part of the River Lee Country Park, Fishers Green is a popular site for visitors including walkers, cyclists and birdwatchers and is a short walk from the Lee Valley Park Farms and cafe. There are toilets adjacent to the main car park and picnic tables nearby.

The Bittern Information Point signposted from the car park affords excellent views across Seventy Acres Lake one of 10 flooded former gravel pits in the area. Colonies of Common Tern nest on floating rafts during the summer months and the small reed bed in front of the hide is regularly visited by Bittern in the winter (November - February).

Time: 9.30 am

Price: Free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Coach trip to RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk

Location: RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk

Our annual coach trip to Minsmere, the RSPB's premier reserve, for birds such as bittern, marsh harriers, bearded tits, avocets, hobbies and perhaps, otters and red deer. In 2009 we saw 90sp. Please bring your RSPB membership card for free admission.

Site Details:
Minsmere offers families and keen birdwatchers a great day out. In spring Avocets return to breed on the Scrape - about 100 pairs nest annually. From mid-April see returning common terns, while wildfowl start to leave in March, and migrant wading birds pass through. Look for marsh harriers displaying over the reedbeds. Minsmere is the best place in Britain to hear booming bitterns. Listen for nightingales singing in the scrub from mid-April, and listen for various other warblers around the reserve. Look for Dartford warblers on the heath, and listen for great spotted woodpeckers drumming. Sand martins return to nest outside the tearoom. Bluebells are in flower in May. Adders emerge from hibernation.

Nature trails take you through a variety of habitats to excellent birdwatching hides. There is a visitor centre where you can find out more about the wildlife or browse in the shop. There is a tea room for your afternoon tea and cake (!) but please note, we lunch out on the reserve so PLEASE bring your lunch and drinks for the day with you.

Your leader today is Terry Smith.

Please book early with Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

Time: Coach departs Broxbourne 7.30am, Ware 7.45am

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group Meeting with a talk by Graham Goodall - 'Warblers, Waders and Whales'

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Monthly group meeting - 'Warblers, Waders and Whales' - Graham Goodall visits to show us the beauty and stunning wildlife of Nova Scotia in August, the challenge of American warblers in early 'fall', tens of thousands of waders on migration and whale trips to see the extremely rare Northern Right Whale.

Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and 100 Club Draw.

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Morning walk with Ali Hauser of HMWT, looking for Water Voles at LVRPA Silvermeade site

Location: Meet by 10am in the Old Mill & Meadows car park, (Toilets available), off Mill Lane, Churchfields, Broxbourne. (OS166 TL371069)

Directions by Car:
Leave the A10 at the slip road for Broxbourne and exit the roundabout towards Wormley, Turnford & Broxbourne. At the next roundabout, turn left onto the A1170, High Road Turnford. Remain on the A1170 over the next two roundabouts in order to turn right at the traffic lights onto the B194, towards Broxbourne Station. Turn first right off Station Road into Churchfields. At the end of Churchfields turn left into Old Mill & Meadows.
EN10 6LX (Google map)

Ali Hauser of Herts & Middx Wildlife Trust (HMWT) leads our walk at the LVRPA Silvermeade site, Broxbourne Old Mill & Meadows, looking for water voles. She will be telling us about their aim to conserve, increase and raise awareness of water voles.

Time: 10 am

Price: £2 donation requested for HMWT

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Family walk with the RSPB Rye Meads WEX group

Location: Venue to be agreed

A summer family walk with the local WEX group (ages 6 to 11) from RSPB Rye Meads. There will be a small charge. Venue to be agreed.

Please book in advance with the WEX leaders at Rye Meads on 01992 708383

Time: 11am to 1pm

Price: There will be a small charge

Booking essential

Telephone: 01992 708383 WEX leaders

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Coach trip to Rye Harbour NR, E Sussex

Location: Rye Harbour NNR, E Sussex

Our final coach trip of this season is to Rye Harbour NR (T), East Sussex, 70sp of birds, incl. little terns, have bred on the reserve, which is one of the finest examples of coastal shingle vegetation in the country. Please remember to bring your refreshments for the day with you!

Site Details:
Rye Harbour is a fascinating Nature Reserve and worth a visit whether you want to discover its wildlife and habitats, explore its history, or simply experience the landscape and enjoy a walk beside the sea, whatever the season.

The Nature Reserve lies within a large triangle of land extending south from Rye, along the River Rother, past Rye Harbour to the sea, westward to Winchelsea Beach and northwards along the River Brede. This triangle of land was largely designated as the Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the many unusual plants and animals that live here as well as the way the land has been built up by the sea over the last 500 years.

Shingle wildlife is specialised because of the harsh conditions that prevail, so there are many rare and endangered plants and animals to be found here. Large gravel pits were created by shingle extraction and these have become a valuable habitat for wetland wildlife. Most of the area also has the European wildlife designations of Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In 2006 the SSSI was included in the new 9,000+ ha. site called the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI.

Your leader today is Mike Oakland.

Book early with Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

Time: Coach departs Ware 7.30am, Broxbourne 7.45am

Price: £15 per seat

Booking essential

Telephone: Barrie Stockwell on 01992 584133

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Group Meeting, with Graham White - 'Managing the RSPB's wetland reserves'

Location: United Reformed Church Hall, Mill Lane, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

Parking is at the rear and the side of the hall or in Mill Lane. Please park thoughtfully and share cars where possible. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs.

EN10 7BQ (Google map)

Our final group meeting of this season - we welcome back Graham White, Senior Wetland Ecologist for the RSPB, with his talk on 'Managing the RSPB's wetland reserves' - a look at a range of management techniques including support for bitterns, cranes and little terns.

Light refreshments are available and we will also have our monthly raffle and six monthly 100 Club Draw

Time: Doors open 7.30 pm for 8 pm start

Price: RSPB members £2, non-RSPB members £2.50

Telephone: Terry Smith on 01992 715634

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk

Evening walk at HMWT Hunsdon Meads

Location: Meet in the car park at Roydon Station (£2 parking charge payable) map ref: OS166 TL405105

Our final evening walk of this season is at HMWT Hunsdon Meads, for wild flowers, various insects and birds, led by Ted Bell.

Time: meet by 7pm

Price: free, but donations always welcome

Telephone: Details from Ted Bell - 01920 467809

E-mail: se_herts_rspb@yahoo.co.uk