It was that sort of a day with our special walk round with David Lindo and myself drawing an appreciative crowd of patient followers. The sun was beaming all day and alight westerly wind stopped us from overheating in excess layers.

Chiffchaffs and a subdued Blackcap sang from the woodland and Brimstone, Comma, Small Tor and Peacock butterflies were on the wing as well as a few more Drone flies and a couple of furry…

Some great Kingfisher action today and I am sure that Tom has got some more shots..... He was joined today but a completly unrelated family of Bells and they all took some fab shots through the window.

He (the Kingfisher, not Tom) needs to entice the female down to see what he is doing!

Nico Bell

His sister Parys Bell

and their dad, Simon....

well done Bells!

15-3-14

What a start to the day.... a huge Kronker cruised in and spent twenty minutes being attacked by Lapwings and harrassed by Crows. I suspect that the Lapwings were taken aback by this huge crow but they all ganged up and eventually saw it off.

With a pair of Ravens now nesting almost within sight of the reserve I hope that this sort of thing will become a more regular feature of Thameside birding.

15-3-14

The male Kingfisher has been dligently excavating another tunnel and Tom Bell spent all of Thursday watching his every move.  He got some great shots of him coming and going and there is some nice film on the Friends of RSPB Rainham Marshes Facebook page.

He has taken to the new perches too so more cracking shots should follow

14-3-14

Spring does not just see the arrival of summer visiting migrants from southern Europe and Africa but many birds that have wintered here start to head off too. This morning there was a wonderful cacophony of Redwings in the Cordite. It was all very eerie in the fog and I could only see shapes but I reckon that over fifty birds were quietly sub-singing to themselves with one or two going for it with gusto! Still could…

Is there any other bird of such diminutive stature that can pump up the volume to such a degree? I love Wrens.... always busy, always inquisitive and hungry, always up for a territorial battle....

It is a good time of year to get good views as they can be quite bold and showy at times and even sit still if you are lucky!

A stunner by Kevin Hood

(Andrew Rodger)

(Janet Newis)

(Bill Crooks)

13-3-14

There has obviously been a trickle of Chiffchaffs making there way into the UK in recent days (along with a few Swallows, Sand Martins, Garganey, Ring Ouzels and Wheatears) and at least six were in song around the trail yesterday. You should even hear your first one as you drive in through the front gate!

They can be quite showy and with a bit of patience you may even get a good snap like some of the lads this week.

Looking out of the centre window today I was regularly treated to the mad display dancings of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies in pairs of small groups zooming to and fro across the view with frantically fluttering wings. Judging by the number reported on the trail it bodes well for a good breeding season in our nettle clumps!

(Andrew Rodger)

(Denis Tuck)

Nice to see the Sloe in full bloom so early too... lets hope…

There are currently two and a half pairs of Great Crested Grebe on the reserve (with others on the Thames) with pairs on Aveley and Butts Scrape and a single on Purfleet. The Aveley pair seems to have already gone through all the nuptials without us seeing and look like they are already nesting while the single bird was snapped by Clive yesterday undertaking much vigorous wing flapping!  Perhaps it will attract one of…

A little bit of sunshine and the world is full of song and insects.... lots of butterflies over the weekend with lemony Brimstones amongst the Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks, Red Admirals and Commas while many Bumblebees were out searching for Willow blossoms. Lizards have been out bathing and the early Marsh Frogs have been belching.

 Two large male Ruff were on the scrape this morning and getting grief from the now…

While I was away last week the Long-tailed Tits got very busy and have now completed their amazing dome nest and Clive Watts has continued his dilgent filming of the painstaking process...

www.youtube.com/watch

10-3-14

Hello everyone,

How are you today? Been enjoying the sunshine?

I've got a treat for you today - next weekend we have the very lovely Mr's Vaughan and Lindo (The Urban Birder himself) leading a guided walk around Rainham!

Everyone is welcome! This is one not to be missed.

David is a writer, broadcaster, speaker and a bird guider. He regularly appears on the BBC One Show and writes for Bird Watching magazine…

Clive Watts continues to follow the progress of the Long-tailed Tits nest in the woodland and he filmed this a little earlier in the week...

I wonder when a dome will appear?

www.youtube.com/watch

9-3-14

Mr P gets an awful amount of attention which is, to be honest, justly deserved for he is indeed a fine cock Pheasant.

(Graham Mee)

However, his harem of three plump ladies also warrant more than a cursory glance and although they are a lot less trusting than him, they do sometimes let you get close enough to pick up the subtleties of their beautiful plumage and just a hint of eye makeup....

(Tony Orwell)

8-3-…

February 2014: Another unwintery month with little change. Lapwing topped the 2000 mark and Wigeon just over the 1000 which was good news while Pintail reached a respectable 40. The single Ruff, Spotted Redshank and Grey Plover continued to be seen amongst the fluctuating flock of up to 400 Golden Plover and an Avocet, Jack Snipe and the first returning Oystercatchers were reported. The four Marsh Harriers and several…

It's a stunning day today - the sun is shining, and wildlife is out and about!

It's feeling very spring like - we've even had some early spring booms out:

Gorse by Les Harrison

Coltsfoot by Russ Sherriff

In other news - FOOT WEAR UPDATE
The floods over the paths have gone down a little, alhtough you will need good waterproof walking boots if you want to do a while circuit.

Kingfisher updates…

It has been a while since the last Kes shots on here and there have been a wealth of images on our Facebook page of her in her new home down by Tilda Rice.  Of Neslon there is no sign. I just hope that, as a youngster, he has moved on to find his own territory.  

These shots are by Bob Cooper...

6-3-14

The Kingfisher bank was swamped by vegetation after the failed breeding season last year and over the last few week the Wardens and their team of eager spritely vols have been digging out the reedmace, cleaning up the face and making it deeper at the base of the cliff.

Alex, Ben and Dan getting stuck in..... (Jamie Smith)

Last week the team were back and continued with the clearing of reed and put up two nice new…

We still have three pair of Stonechats out on the trail but I suspect that most will soon depart and head off to their breeding sites. We know for a fact that at least one colour-ringed bird was commuting from its natal ground on the Norfolk coast to our reserve. It would be nice if one or two pair stay to breed and the piece of Rainham West closest to the road is often a good bet later in the season..

Sentinal Chat…

The annual duck chase has been going on for some weeks now, with the males of all the dabbling species being swamped by raging hormones.  They are all looking at their finest at this time of year and they endeavour to form a strong pair bond with a female while they are at their fittest before the potentially long flight back to foreign climes.

Some may stay in the UK and even linger locally but the drive to secure a…

Our flock of Golden Plovers are still with us although the numbers fluctuate between 40 and 400 on a daily basis. I am beginning to wonder if birds are actually moving  through rather than coming and going as a silvery white leucistic Lapwing that arrived with the flock Monday 18th was only seen for a couple of days before moving on (or perhaps getting eaten!).

By the end of last week some of our birds had started to…

Yep, it's that time of year again when our foreshore pipits start to smarten up and in fact get even more confusing.  It has not been a great winter for them and I suspect that the general mildness has kept numbers down. Water Pipits have been particularly difficult to find with one at the Concrete Barges at the moment being the only reliable one.

Some of the Scandinavian Rock Pipits are starting to colour up and…