Our Wasp Spiders are getting even bigger and I have put out some mini signs to show where one or two of them are! One of the characteristics of a Wasp Spider web is the stabilimentum; a curious zig-zag of thicker silk that runs above and below the spider in the web. No one is quite sure of its purpose but I have never seen one creating any other pattern than the vertical one. This beauty has however added a complete circle…

image by Dave Cornwell

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Still plenty of butterfly action around with the odd Painted Lady appearing and Holly Blues and Small Coppers on the wing a again. The Wall Browns are still along the river wall and are best looked for along the concrete and metal section.

Gatekeeper (Chris Lowe)

Holly Blue (Chris Lowe)

Painted Lady (Dave McGough)

Wall Brown (Mark Hart)

We seem to have fewer egrets this summer than in previous years and look unlikely to get past the 20 mark at this rate. Perhaps we are just too dry for them? Too much competition for Aveley Pools as the only water source?

Anyway, Dave Cornwell got some great shots on Monday of one fishing in front of the Ken Barrett hide (guessing here but it looks right!).

A better Green Sandpiper film than the one I published before. Having a nice preen outside the Ken Barrett Hide in the rain

And this was on the marsh... Thaumatomyia notata a funky fruit fly I think! image by Chris Lowe

Just a quick note to remind any visitors that the Purfleet Hide will be closed till 2pm on Thursday. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

When lunch goes wrong... (Fred Roll)

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I was fortunate enough to be taken around the as yet unopened Bowers Marsh reserve today by Marc Outten. This huge area is part of the South Essex Marshes that already include West Canvey Marshes, Vange Wick and Vange Marsh . It is still in the fledgling stage with dumpers, diggers and other JCBs all over the site but hopefully it will not be too long before it opens its metaphorical doors to the public.

Nicole and…

All the singing is over now for another year so nice to go back and listen to a happy chirpy sound of a summer marsh. Soon all the Reed Buntings will all be brown and stripy again!

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On Friday a splendid Jersey Tiger moth was found feeding happily on the spearmint in the wildlife garden and was enjoyed by many. This stripy black, white and orange beauty is still scarce in the UK but had a blossoming London population and is not the first one to be found here in recent years. Two other species have been seen here; the Garden Tiger and the Cream Spot Tiger.

Jersey (Brenda Clayton)

Jersey (Chris…

Sneaky little blighters! Not only did a pair of Bearded Tits managed to raise two young without us noticing but they have gone and raised a second brood with four recently fledged youngsters seen today by David and Julie Dent whilst out volunteering on the reserve. they even got a picture down by the Dragonfly Pool.

Wonderful!

Migrant Hawker becomes the commonest type of big dragonfly this time of year with swarms sometimes congregating in insect food hotspots where they zoom around in search of a snack. They are not a long as Emperors of Southern Hawkers and lack the rich bronze wings of Brown Hawker but have are often to be found away from water and seem to like hunting at head height or higher. Needless to say this puts them firmly on the…

I reckon that this is our best ever year for baby Cuckoos on the marsh with at least four different birds seen so far. Brenda captured this one on the fence by the 'Bus-Stop' on Friday.

Mark Hart found a Bryony Ladybird in the woodland yesterday. This striking orange beetle is a new arrival in the UK with the first sighting as recently as 1997. Nearly all the records have been from the London area and I believe that this is the first Essex record.... sure someone will put me right if I am wrong!

just got these baby Bearded Tit shots from Dawn Cowan from Sunday.... very nice.

An easterly wind and rain pushing up river has already provided us with some great birds this morning with over 14 Avocet, 100 Common Terns, 3 Arctics and a record five Littles (in one flock).

However the prize so far goes to the winter plumaged Razorbill that flew by at 0830 and headed up river. Amazingly it has just returned for another flyby. This is not a new bird for the reserve but the first since the 20th February…

More baby Sedge Warblers have appeared (prob the last this year) and this one posed very well for Les Harrison. Africa here we come!

As for that initial Razorbill... what I did not tell you all earlier in all the excitement was that Andy Tweed and I literally willed it into existence. We had been reminiscing about the week after the Kentish Tufted Puffin in 2009 when we found Atlantic (our) Puffin and Guillemot on the River and how we had not had an auk since... Andy said that we still wanted a Little Auk for Rainham Marshes (which I have had...) and…

Its started off so well with more claggy weather and some rain and this gave the early watchers two Sandwich Terns, a Black Tern and 13 Turnstone for their troubles. It rained steadily at the start of the Wednesday Walk but we persevered and managed to find some good passerine flocks in the cordite woodland including Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs amongst the tits. The water level on Aveley Pool is still too…

Last night saw our final Dusk Walk of the season and it was a good one with Avocets in the Bay, eight Glow Worms in the woodland Little Egrets heading off to roost. Many bats were seen and I am waiting for a list of those detected!

Highlight for me and those in the centre was the huge fight between our two top bulls out on Aveley Marsh! It started at about 7.30 and went on till well afterthe sun had set behind the landfill…

It seemd to take forever but the Gloria eventually came into view on the receeding tide this afternoon and a fine sight she was too. If only she had been under sail!  We had quite a crowd by the time she appeared.

Some facts: The Gloria is the official flagship and sail-training ship of the Colombian Navy, and her home port is Cartagena. Purpose-built in 1968 as a sail-training ship in the Celeya shipyard in Spain, the…