Rainham Marshes

Apologies but it is late I thought I would just quickly share today's sightings before I turn in...

Bit of a wader and tern day...

This week has been pretty changeable, weather wise, but it has been busy wildlife wise.

There has been lots of waders around including bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, knot, dunlin, grey plover, whimbrel, lapwing, and redshank.

Bar-tailed godwits and a whimbrel by Ian Plume. The bar-tailed gowits have been spending their time on Aveley Bay and the Purfleet Scrape so it's worth keeping an eye out!

Avocet…

I returned from my extended sojourn on Lesvos to be greeted by a very chilly Rainham river wall on Bank Holiday Monday morning but I was instantly warmed by the plethora of new birds for my year list that had arrived in my absence.

There were Whitethroats singing all around and performing bouncing song flights, Reed Warblers gurked and Sedge Warblers scratched and the Grasshopper warbler briefly reeled too.  Three male…

During the week our fantastic wardening team were fixing the boardwalk between the Purfleet and Marshland Discovery Zone - just a quick message to say that is is all open as normal again!

The wardening team have done  a brilliant job - thank you all!

Here are some of today's highlights: greenshank (Target Pools), ruff (Target Pools), ringed plover (Target Pools), grey plover (near the MDZ and then it flew to Aveley…

Here are some of the wildlife highlights from the week so far:

Whimbrel have been seen every day - either on Aveley Bay or flying over.

A cattle egret has been around for about three days - around the Purfleet scrape following the cattle. There are a few little egrets around as well - keep an eye out for the yellow bill of the cattle egret. On Thursday 2 May we also had a great white egret over on the Target Pools.

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On Monday 29 April-Friday 3 May we will be closing a section of boardwalk between the Purfleet hide and Marshland Discovery Zone to do some repairs. 

This means that if you would like to do a complete loop you will have to go anticlockwise through the woodland and exit through the turnstile and walk back to the centre along the river. All hides will be open.

You will still be able to visit the Purfleet hide, but will…

RSPB Rainham Marshes Optics Event  4^th. 5^th. And 6^th MAY 2019

Are going away on holiday the summer ?  Planning a birdwatching trip?

Need a light weight travel scope to fit into your luggage.

Come along over the Bank Holiday event and get hands on experience of our range of Light weight travels scopes.

Keep a close eye on what's hiding in the long grass.

Check out our range of  Opticron, Kowa, Viking and RSPB light weight…

Site Manager Andrew has written this for you:

We’ve had a few early reports of swift seen over the reserve over the last week or so, but today we have been seeing little parties going though, first 3, then another (or maybe not !) 3, then a dozen and then 8 – it feels like they are really starting to return.

These amazing masters of the skies are one of the last migrants to return, and of course one of the…

Just a quick update after yesterday - the woodland is now open again as usual!

These are some of the wildlife highlights from this week:

Waders shave been showing well - including wood sandpiper (Target Pools on 26 April),  spotted redshank (Target Pools on 25 April), redshank, greenshank (Target Pools on 26 April), ruff, avocet, lapwing, whimbrel, water rail, little ringed plover, bar tailed godwit, and oystercatcher.

Redshank by Tony O'Brien

A ring ouzel was seen on the river wall on 25 April…

Please note a section of the woodland (including the Cordite Store) is closed today, although you can still complete a whole loop if you use the adventure playground and outer loop of the woodland (on the map below the green path). 

You got a great offer on bird see last week!

Now you can top up on tasty suet too!

Happy birds for the lead up to a Bank Holiday!

Happy Easter everyone!

Just to let you know we are open everyday (9.30 am-5pm) if you fancied a walk (but the toilets half way around the reserve are closed).

Heather Stuckey (rspb-images.com)

There's been a cattle egret wandering around with the cattle this morning!

There has been lots of singing birds - it's lovely to hear! The cettis, sedge and reed warblers are singing away, with blackcap and white…

More special shop offers!

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Happy Easter for your birds!

Wednesday was a complete contrast to the delightfully dire, gloomy, drizzly murk of Tuesday with blue skies and a stiff northerly breeze that brought the temperatures back down once again and although a couple of Scoter and a single Little Gull were seen it was another white winged gull that stole the show. 

Mediterranean Gulls are quite frequently encountered in the spring as birds return to their North Kent colonies…

It dawned murky and drizzly with low cloud and almost no wind – perfect.  Andy Tweed was on site a little before me and before 730 had picked up a Common Scoter flock and four Red-breasted Mergansers drifting out on the tide. Thankfully they stayed long enough for me to rock up just before eight and collect them upon arrival from the centre. 

The Scoter were typically mobile floating one way and then flying back…

The latest offer to tempt you into treating the birds in your garden is here...

The offer runs through to the 17th April... click on the pictures for more detail!

They spring work has continued apace over the last week around the car park and wildlife garden and with birds already nesting it is good that all the big (but still non-invasive) jobs have been completed.

The first laid hedge that Pat was helping face up (removing side growth) has been completed on the inner car bay side and is looking great.  This will help it thicken up even more.

Look! There are posts!

The meadow…

Spring is trying very hard to get going having now been told that it is officially here and there are now blooms to attract those insects bold enough to venture forth.

I had a walk around the car park and was pleased by the variety I found but there was little in the way of of insect life to be seen but I am sure that will blossom like the flowers over the coming weeks.

Daisy

Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot

Red Dead Nettle

A Woodpigeon was too slow on Sunday afternoon and attracted the terminal attention of one of our immature Peregrines. No one saw the stoop but a puff of feathers and the panicking of all the wildfowl told us that something had occurred.

The culprit was easy to pick out as she sat on an island and plucked her hapless and very deceased victim while being watched attentively by a hoard of slightly perturbed duck and dive…

It was a busy weekend on the marshes that started with ‘Mayflower’ thundering through on Saturday morning and the KBC walk then proved most productive with superb views of Marsh Harriers and Buzzards, plenty of smart dabbling ducks and the finding of a female Black Redstart flycatching from the electric fence.

Black Redstart - Tom Bell

There were at least 12 singing Chiffchaffs - Chris Barnes

Pintail -…

And as promised an update on the glory that was the Mayflower as she thundered past the reserve on the C2C line at just after 830am yseterday morning much to the delight of the huge crowd of ten people that accepted the offer of an early opening.

She was under full steam with billows of white fluffiness trailing out behind her and was a sight to behold.

Jerry Hoare had set up a variety of cameras to capture the moment…