Even bigger and furrier than the Drinker Moth Cats is the lovely olive spotted Oak Eggar Moth cat....  If anything, these ones are even more favoured by Cuckoos!!!!!!

Slightly better moth though, the males are orangey coloured day fliers and hurtle around the marsh at break neck speed in their lustful quest for a female sat up wafting pheromones!

www.youtube.com/watch

Many thanks to Jerry Hoare for this little film…

Trev Bird posted these on the Rainham Facebook page the other day as he chugged past the reserve on a boat.  I have been out there myself (on the Waverley) and it really does look quite impressive from the river. A true landmark.

15-6-13

It ended up being a pretty good day with Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Avocet and five Sanderling making it worth the effort.  Nice to get some early passage birds but slightly disturbing as it may suggest a poor breeding season up north...

Oh and our first three baby Lapwings had a fly round today!

And as promised here is my Spoonbill video from earlier

www.youtube.com/watch

14-6-13

Andy Tweed had a close encounter with this young Grass Snake earlier today as it crossed the path on its way to the ditch and a froggy dinner on the other side. Great to see one out in the open.

14-6-13

An adult Spoonbill was found by Dominic Mitchell just after eight this morning. It stayed till 12 and was actively feeding out on Aveley Pool for all of that time. A Greenshank and early Wood Sandpiper were also seen out there and hundreds of Swifts were zooming around...

pics by me...  some video later

14-6-13

Early resident birds have already had one brood by now and the likes of Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robins and Sparrows will be probably on their second by now and Reed Buntings will be doing likewise. The tell tale signs of increased singing and risky sitting on reed tops is a give away that territories are being reaffirmed and more sprogs are on the way!

Reed Bunting (Bill Crooks)

Reed and Sedge Warbler chicks have…

Everywhere you go they are still following round Mum and Dad looking for a snack.  I know that I have already done a Starling post this week but I loved these shots taken by Val Callen.  Very evocative and you can almost hear the insistant begging followed by the momentary silence as the beakfull of grubs gets rammed home!

"Oi! Over here!  FEEEEED MEEEEEEE!"

Stuff it in!

14-6-13

This is one of the old names for the Redshank due to their loud noisy calls that warn every other denizen of the marsh of the impending approach of trouble.  Our birds are having a good year with several large chicks around and the parents are still 'kipping' from available vantage points such as the electric fence around the main marsh.  Hopefully this means that they will be good protective parents!

(Barry…

There are lots of headless herons loafing about the marsh at the moment in the hope of picking off a stray chick or two but our mad Lapwings are very much up to the task and are chasing off every single bird they see (including Mr P!).

The Herons are having to resort to more normal fayre and are largely preying on the Marsh Frogs although with the gloomy coll conditions even they are trickier to find!

(Les Harrison…

Although it warmed up during the day it felt more like a cold, windy, drizzly November morning today albeit with an abundance of lush vegetation! Very quiet birdwise again although an Avocet, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank were genuinely noteworthy. The female Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard were seen and I reckon that the Lesser Redpolls are nesting in the woodland willows as one was seen again.

Newly hatched today were…

12-6-13

Seen one or two of these great Millipedes recently on suicide missions across the paths (much like the Kamikaze Glow-worms!)  So, another reason to watch where you walk!

Ommatoiulus sabulosus - the Striped Millipede (HTV)

12-6-13

With such cool conditions it has been a tricky time for insects in general but for those that need to hunt on the wing with warmed up wing muscles it has probably been near fatal.

Still, it does give photographers a better chance of getting a good snap or two!

Hairy Hawker - Martin Hatton

Azure Damsels - Martin Hatton

Blue-tailed Damsel of the form rufescens - Craig Burnett

11-6-13
 

I led a walk yesterday for some bods from our hydrology department and the reserve is looking fantastic with young Lapwing, Canada Geese and the first warbler broods out and about..

There were countless Starlings out on the marsh and all you could hear was the 'shewwwing' of the brown babies as they followed their parents around looking for guidance as to how to probe with efficiency!

Veronika Moore took some…

There are many species of Sawflies in the UK and we have quite a few of these out on the reserve. They are related to wasps and bees and are quite harmless to us. They get their name from the saw-like serration along the underside of their ovipositer that they use to lay their eggs within the stems of vegetation and such like.

I think that both of these images are from a family know as Rhogogaster which seem to be largely…

It may not be sunny or overly warm but the Marsh Frogs have been in fine form with some great orchestral overtures from the main channels. Brenda caught up with this particular male last week.  Definitely the biggest air sacks we have ever seen!

9-6-13

If you look carefully as you walk around you will see some rather large caterpillars along the paths, especially in the Northern Trail section.  These are the young of Drinker moths.

If you were a Cuckoo they would be the most appealing thing in the world!

8-6-13

Lawrence Rogers has been taking some awesome shots in recent weeks of the inverts across the site. Most of his finds are in the wildlife garden though and have included a couple of species newly recorded for the reserve....

So lets do Froghoppers!.....

Horned Froghopper.... Centrotus cornutus

Marsh Froghopper... Neophilaenus lineatus

and last by by no means least.....  the spectacular...

Cercopis vulnerata

The first Orb Weavers are now out and about with many Long-jawed OW (Tetragnatha extensa) and Furrow OW to be found on the walk to the Cordite Woodland...

Furrow OW (HTV)

Long-jawed OW (Craig Burnett)

Long-jawed OW (Craig Burnett)

The first Garden orb Spiderlings are also to be found in golden bundles of spidery delight and will grow quickly over the coming weeks....

Spiderlings (HTV)

7-6-13

Following on from the success of the Thurrock Art Trail in the hide this week we now have Dawn Cowan back for a two week show starting this Sunday...

7-6-13

May 2013 Summary:

A fantastic month for waders with 26 species recorded out on the marsh including two Spotted Redshanks, up to 14 Whimbrel, (6^th), Wood Sandpiper (8^th and 14^th), six Little Stints, Temminck’s Stint (14^th), a peak of six Sanderling, Curlew Sandpiper (14^th-15^th), seven Turnstone and Knot. Lapwing and Redshanks are having an excellent breeding season. The male Scoter stayed till the 7^th and two Black…

There are many types of Crab Spider and many are very tricky to identify. These three (which I reckon I have got right!) are pretty common across the eastern edges of the reserve and the wildlife garden is an especially good spot for the white ones... All wait for prey with legs out wide but one of these with scuttle quickly after prey as well.

and here it is.... the Running Crab Spider (Philodromus dispar or something…

We are still not sure what our Marsh Harriers are up to out on the reserve.... I suspect that they are not breeding but both adults (and a young male) are still around and generally hunting out over Wennington Marsh and the Target Pools.  I saw the female today playing tag with several Crows....  keeps her fit I suppose!

(Les Harrison)

6-6-13

The first broods of Linnets are out and making lots of weird and wonderful noises as they follow their parents around begging for food. The Cordite brambles, river wall and Serin Mound area are the best spots and if you find one of the males, you will see that he has already largely lost his red bikini top and has become a little subdued.  Suspect that they will try for a second brood now...

(HTV)

6-6-13