| Re: Cliffe Pools
Well I'm back and I'm knocked out at what I've seen. There was an RSPB event going on which was well organised and informative. All of the area has been cleaned up as there had been loads, and I mean loads, of burnt out rusty cars left to rot on the marshlands. The last time I had been in this area about 6 years ago, there had been an intimidating atmosphere created by the undesirable types that frequented the marshes with their tied up ponies and stolen cars and shot guns!
Now that it is owned by the RSPB, the potential is great. With the different types of 'pools' some brackish, some fresh, the invertebrate population is flourishing and therefore so is the bird population. On a guided walk, we saw,common tern, hobby,avocet, shelduck, whitethroat, nightingale, kestrel,greylag goose,oystercatcher,numerous finches and sounds of warblers, herons, little egrets and hundreds of different types of insects. There are a large amount of butterlies and their associated flowers.
The RSPB are doing the right thing in encouraging the locals to take 'ownership' of it's incredible diversity and gradually the whole of the North Kent marsh area should become a wildlife corridor, protected from development and home to thousands of birds and animals.
If you get the chance, I'd recommend a visit, take a picnic, your cameras and bins and enjoy it. There will be a vistors centre built in the future and I shall watch with interest as the reserve develops. Might even see you down there one day. Julie  |