Event Reports for 2025
12th February: "Britain's Coastal Birds and their Secret Lives". Simon Ginnaw, the Warden and tour guide at Elmley Bird Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey, gave a fascinating talk.
He took us on a visual tour of parts of the nineteen and half thousand miles of Britains coastline, talking about the birds that live, breed and migrate to and from our coastal regions.
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We were given a particular overview of the birds that can be found locally and it was interesting to hear how the marshland and mudflats of Kent are internationally important to a huge variety of birds, not just the seabirds, but also waders, raptors and many smaller birds such as starlings.
Simon gave us some extraordinary facts, I was astonished to learn that seabirds are very long lived, some living as long as fifty or sixty years. He also told us that 47% of the Kent coastline is composed of mudflats and that there are 1300 calories worth of insect and crustacean life contained in a single square meter of mud - that certainly made me feel differently about mud!
It was also great to be told that Fowley Island in Conyer Creek is a haven for breeding gulls such as the now endangered Black Headed Gull.
Simon was an extremely knowledgeable and engaging speaker with a clear passion for his work and way of life, he stayed on to answer many questions afterwards.
19th March: "What is the use of wasps?". A talk by Kent-based biologist/environmental educator, Dr Clive Nuttman.
9th April: Mudlarking
Sam Willoughby's interesting talk began with a brief history of mudlarking – from how it began as a means of survival for London’s children living in poverty in Victorian Britain to a hobby popularised by Graham duHeaume in the 1970s.
Victorian children would scour the foreshore of the River Thames for finds that could be sold despite this actually being an offence at that time. There were some valuable discoveries during the mid nineteenth century - the Battersea bronze shield and Waterloo helmet, both dating back to the Iron Age, are believed to be the oldest finds discovered on the banks of the River Thames and are displayed at the British Museum. Since 2016, mudlarking in London has required a permit which is issued by the Port of London Authority, the waiting list is in the thousands – testament to how popular the hobby has become today.
Sam’s own interest started by watching YouTube videos during lockdowns over the pandemic. He mudlarks in the Milton Creek and the Swale where a permit is not required unlike in London. He began though in the River Medway where he discovered sherds of Victorian workhouse pottery that displayed a crest to deter thefts of the crockery by the residents. Sam has found musket balls, clay smoking pipe bowls, bone and metal buttons, lead seals, Victorian penny ink wells, bullets, coins, bottles and bottle stoppers. He has also discovered the top of a Victorian murder bottle; so-called as the rubber tubes in the bottles were near impossible to clean meaning they became a breeding ground for bacteria and are believed to be in part responsible for the high mortality rates in infants at the time.
If this has whetted your interest then Sam explained it is very cheap and easy to get involved as you just need a pair of wellies, gloves, a trowel and a finds bag. He did also warn though that you should be aware of tide times before embarking on a trip. If you are lucky enough to find something of historical interest then you will need let the local Finds Liaison Officer know and also record it on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database run by the British Museum.
Further information is available in a number of books that have been published on the topic, there is a current exhibition at the London Museum Docklands which runs until 1 March 2026 and there are tours run by the Thames Explorer Trust. Word of mouth and social media are also rich sources of information including Sam’s own Instagram page @the_peaky_larker.