Birdsong train tours are a hit with twitchers

Birdwatchers in the South East have been taking to the tracks to enjoy the last of spring's chirpy dawn choruses.

Kent & East Sussex Railway (KESR) has been running a series of morning train rides to allow twitchers to hear and spot some elusive feathered species around the Wealden countryside.

A return service from Tenterden to Bodiam, the tours offer a chance for budding ornithologists to get up close and personal with skylarks, lapwings and song thrushes, many of which have seen their numbers decline in recent decades.

KESR volunteer guide Andy Papworth described railway lines as "a surprisingly great place for birds to make their habitat".

"A railway is actually a microcosm of the environment, because it's protected," he said.

"That's because there aren't roads alongside and there's lots of farm property in the area."

Stretching 10 and half miles (16.8km) and taking just over two hours, the journey in a heritage diesel electric train - the last of which takes places on Saturday - allows passengers to become immersed in the local landscape and wildlife.

David Campbell, from birding tour company Wildstarts, added that "nightingales, cuckoos and turtle doves were the big three which everyone hopes to hear".

"All three have been in very sharp decline over the past few decades, so to experience them away from nature reserves is something quite special," he said.

"And just this morning we had a nightingale singing right outside the train, along with two cuckoos chasing each other around."

One passenger said hearing a cuckoo had been the highlight of her trip.

"As children we used to really enjoy hearing them in the countryside, but very rarely do you ever hear them these days," she said.

"But I've certainly heard them out here."

Another said he'd "never expected to hear nightingales" but had done just that on his journey.

"It's been fantastic," he added.

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