The first male nightingale to arrive from Africa was heard singing at the Fingringhoe Wick nature reserve on Friday the earliest date a nightingale has been recorded there.
Wardens are expecting that the reserve will soon be paying host to 30 other males, each defending their chosen patch and awaiting the arrival of the females.
Reserve warden Laurie Forsyth said: "I've experienced this event at Fingringhoe Wick every April for 24 years and every year, I marvel at the sheer beauty of their song and the power of their migration instinct."
The nightingale was immortalised by poet John Keats and is one of our best known, but least seen, birds.
But visitors will have a chance to learn more about them on daily tours at the reserve at South Green Road.
The tours begin on Thursday, May 1, and 14 daily tours are planned. They each start at 7.30pm and last until 9pm.
Contact 01206 729678 for bookings
Published Wednesday, April 9, 2003
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