And what a week Purple Emperor butterflies and a pair of Spoonbills on Flamingo, but let me say both reserves are looking their summer best, lush and verdant. This is down to the hard work of Julian. Will, Ruby and Katie, supported by interns Rosemary and Elizabeth and a stalwart band of volunteers and supporters.
I take my Panama off to them!
A walk at Cliffe this afternoon was undertaken to assess the amount of plastic just over the sea-wall on the high water mark in the Thames. Plastic is very much on the agenda at the moment, especially the amount in our waterways and oceans. This as you will know is literally choking some species to death and the use of single use plastic i.e. drinks bottles, food wrapping and carrier bags has to be stopped.
In my youth milk, orange juice came in glass bottles which went back to the supplier, meat from the butchers and vegetables from the greengrocer was in brown paper bags, even fish and chips were paper wrapped not in polysterene boxes.
Aside from plastic there were a lot of butterflies amongst the grasses and Birds' foot trefoil, Meadow browns, Small heaths, Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and the ever lovely Marbled whites.
So aside from the good, the bad and the ugly there was also the beautiful, personified by a Pyramidal orchid.
Spoonbills as a aforementioned were spooning on Flamingo or at least playing pass the stick as this great image from Frank Cacket.
As you see there is plenty to see at the North Kent Marshes this weekend so why not visit us and get in touch with nature.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.