We have just taken delivery of our new range of Christmas Cards and 2013 Calendars and Diaries...

Now, as you know those diaries go like the proverbial hot cakes so get in quick!

13-7-12

There is still a trickle of waders coming through the reserve at the moment although the weather is hampering finding them. With so much rain falling, we are having trouble keeping the waters down on the scrapes but we will do our  best to keep on top of things. In the last few days there have been up to four Green Sandpipers and a single juvenile Dunlin on the Purfleet Scrape along with several Black-tailed Godwits and…

Watch and wonder and the sheer brute strength and determination as this tiny little ant drags the hulking form of a squished Laparius cornutus Mega Weevil over the 'rocky' terrain. 

... and some great macro filming by Mark Hart as well....

www.youtube.com/watch

13-7-12

Last June I posted an image of a Robin's Pin Cushion with the tiny parasitic Bedegaur Gall Wasp emerging. Inside the 'cushion' that the rose forms in reaction to the wasp, there will be many tiny chambers and within each one an egg is laid.

Bedagaur Gall Wasp, Robin's Pin Cushion and my thumb....

Now this year we have gone one step further and Mark Hart has taken a photo of a tiny parasitic wasp that…

Found this little gem of a insect on Wednesday. it is a Ruby-tailed Wasp and it was under a cm long. Such vibrant colours and for the first time for me, one actually sat still and let me take some shots!

Wooden fence posts by the Dragonfly Pool and the walls of the Brick Building seem to be a good place to search for this great looking species. it is parasitic and searches out Mason Bees into which it lays its…

As you will no doubt remember, back in late May and early June our Wildlife Pond got vandalised to the extent that we decided not to repair the many punctures just so that it could be damaged and the plants trampled down again.

Today saw the start of the rebirth of the area and with the help of Mark & Terry Hart, Richard Duhrsen, David Blackwell, Ian Bloys and a troop of willing Veolia volunteers we managed to move about…

....more Hoverfly time!

Have sorted out the names of some of the trickier ones with help from Joan Childs from our Rye Meads Reserve (who is somewhat enthusiastic when it comes to hoverflies!)

Melanostoma mellinum

Sphaerophoria sp

Cheilosia illustrata

All by Mark Hart

12-7-12

Much to my delight the Spoonbill condescended to stay until I could do a Wednesday Walk and showed exceptionally well on the ground and even in flight where it whiffled and careened around the pools!  The punters were most happy today! Also seen by me and others today were 16 LIttle Egrets including the first juveniles, three Green Sandpipers and a Black-tailed Godwit while over 100 Sand martins were out over Target trying…

'Howard, we have found a terrapin!' was unexpected but even as I wandered over to where they were standing i was still expecting a usual sized red-eared-type variety.  i looked down and there the grass was a bloomin 'oooge great beast sitting it the grass looking sorry for itself!  At first it looked like a tortoise due to the shell patterning but as I got close I realised that it was too flat and we were back…

Tabanus bovinus... A proper HUGE Horse Fly sizing up our Avocet. Is it hungry or wondering if it would make a suitable logo??

Cracking shots by Nicole Burgum

and this critter is the much smaller (but no less hungry!) Cleg photographed by Mark Hart.  Mermerizing eyes!

 11-7-12

Well not quite but our cattle are taking like the proverbial ducks to water at the moment and are quite happy wading around after the lushest vegetation!  Never seen them this deep before though!

It may not be great weather for insects but at least some of them sit still when the sun is not shining!

We have been getting some fab shots of Hoverflies recently and I hope to show case them in the coming weeks so here we go...

All are quite harmless!

Eristalis tenax - the Drone Fly named after its resemblance to a Honey Bee worker

Xanthogramma pedissequum - one of the smartest out there!

Helophilus trivittatus…

This is one of my favourite little flies that inhabits the woodland here. It is especially numerous within the Cordite Store where it can be seen perched on leaves waiting for small prey to pounce on. Both the sexes are shiny green but the male has striking black rear half to the wings with a milky white spot at the tip which he uses to signal and display to other males and attract the ladies!

Poecilobothrus nobilitatus…

The last brood of Mute Swans to hatch was very late but all four are still alive and their parents seem to be doing a good job in keeping them safe. Mark Hart captured them during some down time the other day.

10-7-12

Just a quick but very big thank you to the 3rd Dartford Beavers who have collected gazillions of postage stamps for our Save The Albatross Appeal!  Well done all of you and remember that this campaign never ends!  Keep them coming!

I persuaded Tony Houston, one of my vols, to pose with the thousands of stamps.

10-7-12

Have a close look at this fab shot of a Marsh Frog by Mark Hart....

If you zoom in you will see that he has several hitch hikers.... not entirely sure what they are but one of them seems to be smiling!

Any help appreciated!

And help was forthcmoing via Chris Slade  who has 'people in the know'...!  Theye are a species of Globular Springtail (Collembola family).

9-7-12

Just a quick plug for the annual amazing Birdfair at Rutland Water from 17-19 August!  Hope to see some of you there!

Our immature male Marsh Harrier has been performing admirably this week with some great shows over Aveley Marsh.  If you remember last week I put up some pictures from last week in June where you could see a remaining barred immature primary feather on each wing?

9-7-12

Our male Reed Buntings are still looking very smart which considering they are probably halfway through feeding a second brood is quite surprising. I know they are a regular feature on this blog but they afford such great photographic opportunities!

Al images by Basil Thornton

9-7-12

The gardens in front of the visitor centre are once again looking their best with swathes of purple Hidcote Lavender , pinky-grey Ice Plants, glaucous green Rosemary and lime yellow Lady's Mantle. Just need some sunshine and warmth now to encourage all those pollinators to come out and find them. I want to arrive at work to the sounds of hundreds of humming bees; speaking of which I had a Queen Shrill Carder Bee on…

Amazingly our Spoonbill is not only still on Aveley Pools but is also still awake!  it has obviously not read the books and like all good well behaved Spoonbills he should be fast asleep for at least 95% of all daylight hours!

By the way . . . one of these is a swan (Jonathan Wasse)

Yet more activity!!! (Paul Hawkins)

8-7-12

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This is a tag line we have been using for years since it was coined by one of our original Field Teachers, the great Steve 'Spider Man' Hall. On Friday I was very fortunate to be taken up onto the summit of the Veolia Landfill site in strangely glorious weather with fluffy white clouds and blue skies. 

Never more so has 'Big View, Big Skies' been more apt. In nearly 25 years of birding the site, this is the first…

After a day away visiting the delights of Barnes WWT reserve our adult Spoonbill decided to come back to see us this morning and seems quite happy on Aveley Pools in the .... wait for it.... sunshine!

It was even awake!!!!

Thanks to mark Vale for the prompt picture...

7-7-12

Had a call from a chap called Dave Wood from East Sussex about a funny bird he had had in his garden which he described as looking like a Magpie but with red instead of white in the plumage....  I could not work out what it could be so he sent me a picture......

... and it is exactly what he said it was....

Now, I only really have one theory on this bird and that is based on the fact that it appears to bear a small…

As usually happens this time year we have suddenly become aware of some great conglomerations of spiky Peacock butterfly catarpillers muching their way through the lush stands of Stinging Nettles.  Hopefully this bodes well for an autumn filled with brightly coloured scary false eyes!

(Dawn Cowan)

7-7-12