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Our AGM will take place on Saturday 14th August at 14.00 hrs, at Arreton Community Centre.

You will have already received the papers. Please come along and support us if you feel comfortable to do so. We would encourage the use of face masks and we will have the windows open for good circulation. We hope to see you there.

The new date and time for June’s postponed Entomology Group moth trapping meeting is Monday 19th July at 21:30hrs.

All other details remain as per the programme re: venue and booking.

Leader: Selena Bone 298073

Due to current guidance, our AGM will have to be postponed yet again!

Do keep a look out for a new date to be arranged as soon as conditions allow.

Thankyou for your forebearance.

Owing to a poor weather forecast for this coming Friday 18th June, the evening Moth Trapping Meeting is being postponed.

The meeting will be rescheduled with a new date TBC.

Please pass this on to anybody you know who may have been thinking of coming along.

The latest issue of our species recording newsletter ‘Recording Now’ can be viewed here

As part of the 50^th anniversary of Golden Hill Country Park the Society was asked to conduct surveys during 2020. This could not go ahead because of the Covid 19 pandemic so we decided to conduct the bird meeting now. The Country Park obtained some lottery funding and have provided a directions board in the car park and we followed the wildlife walk. Half of the park is taken up with tree cover with the rest as open spaces. As the weather forecast was for heavy rain only five people attended. The birds were mainly in the tree cover or shrubs as they are busy raising young at this time so it was mainly an exercise in identifying bird song. Three species of warblers were identified, Chiffchaff (the most numerous), Blackcap and Common Whitethroat. Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wren, Dunnock, Magpie and Song Thrush were the representative resident birds. Three Jays were about and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard. 20 species were recorded. Jackie Hart

Read all the latest news and updates from the IWNHAS here

We were hoping to hold this on 8th May, as given in the recent Programme, but unfortunately, due to current restrictions, it is not going to be possible to hold it on that day. Therefore we are proposing a new date of Saturday 3rd July at 14.00 hrs at Arreton Community Centre. Please make a note of this new date. Everyone will be sent the relevant papers by post well in advance of the meeting.

If you missed one, of our recent Centenary Series of webinars or would like to see them again, they are now available for free at our new YouTube channel:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE WEBINARS

Please do ‘Subscribe’ to our channel as we plan to add more content in the future and do feel free to share these links with anyone else who might be interested.

Two groups of six people met at the beginning of the cycle track at the end of Laundry Lane for a walk in the area. The start times were staggered to try and avoid both groups meeting up and Jim Baldwin and I led the walks. Both groups were able to see two White-tailed Eagles at the start as they were both perched on two bare trees on the main marsh. Between us we noted 46 species during the course of the beautiful morning. Other special species seen were Marsh Harrier and Great White Egret. The migrants that visit us each spring are arriving with Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat represented. We also heard the explosive call of many Cetti’s Warbler which are resident. Many Skylark were singing and the odd House Martin and Swallow were seen. By the pools south-west of Carpenter’s Farm were a group of at least 40 very vocal Mediterranean Gull with about 10 Black-headed Gull so we were able to see the differences in the head markings at this time of the year. Whilst my group were walking along the raised footpath to Bexley Point we were delighted to see both White-tailed Eagles flying over and then heading south west, one of them being pursued by Kestrel and then Buzzard. The difference in sizes was very apparent. In the ‘triangular’ field the Great White Egret was spotted both by us and then two Grey Herons who harassed the egret until it flew off. Jackie Hart