An unpromising weather forecast but Keith and I decided to head off to New Hythe and Leybourne Lakes in search of Nightengales. This area in the Medway Valley is now one of the remaining strongholds for this declining species.
As we leave the train at New Hythe it has been raining but has now stopped and we proceed into the lake complex which is managed for fishing, leisure and Wildlife. Within a hundred yards we are greeted by our first singing Nightengale. It will be one of the 10-12 singing males we will encounter over the time we spend in the lake complex, which is excellent news for the forthcoming breeding season.
Blackcap (female at top, male below) 
Nightengale
Other highlights were 15 singing Blackcaps plus a smaller number of Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge warblers, Reed Warblers, Cettis warblers and Chiffchaffs, but strangely no Willow Warblers, which neither of us has managed to hear so far this year. I hope they are just delayed and this is not an indication of some problem during their migration
Peacock 
Speckled Wood
We also had six species of Butterfly: Peacock, Speckled Wood, Green-Veined White, Small White and Brimstone.
As we were heading for Snodland Station we spotted a Kestrel on the church tower.
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Stock Dove [sp] (Columba oenas)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Cetti’s Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)
Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Eurasian Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
Lesser Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia curruca)
Common Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Common Nightingale [sp] (Luscinia megarhynchos)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
White Wagtail (Pied) (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Greenfinch [sp] (Chloris chloris)
