Not sure if these two plants are especially rare but I have always been told that they are locally uncommon. The first is Vervain with its tiny pearly white (with a hint of lilac) flowers and the other is the Wild Leek which lives inconspicuously in amongst all the grasses on the River wall.

Vervain

Wild Leek

2-8-12

Quite a good haul of waders yesterday to get us off to a fine start in August with a Black-tailed Godwit, four Whimbrel, two Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher, two Avocet, 22 Dunlin, three Green Sandpiper, 35 Lapwing and two Snipe seen across the reserve. Two Marsh Harriers and both Peregrines were seen today but Hobbies are unusually scarce this summer. Seven Little Egrets danced around the improving Purfleet Scrape (which should…

Now I know that I have to be careful about mentioning the 'O' word or even this year and probably even the capital city of this country BUT.... get a look at the athletic prowess of this Garden Snail as it somehow manages to slide to the end of this piece of Black Mustard so that it can radulate to its hearts content whilst somehow clinging on with nothing but the muscles in its 'foot'.

Oh and by the…

Last Tuesday several of us stayed out on the reserve till gone midnight to see what we could hear out on the marsh but with the ulterior motive of seeing whether we too could find a singing Baillon's Crake.

This Starling sized relative of the Water Rail is exceptionally secretive and usually located by its rasping song given after dark!

We were unsuccessful on this occasion but news has now been released about an…