• Have you Voted for Bob?

    Do you think that natural places should be looked after? We do, and we need your help!

    Nature is the reason we are here. None of us could live without it.

    Worms break up the soil so Bob can bury my hazelnuts and you can plant vegetables and fruit. The vegetables, fruit and flowers attract my friends the birds and bees. The birds spread seeds to grow trees and the bees pollinate the flowers. And when these die back they…

  • Hen Harrier Day.... Sunday 10th August

    Long before the RSPB came along, Rainham Marshes used to be the only site within the London area where you could stand a good chance of seeing Hen Harrier at their regular winter roost. This happened up until the early 1990’s when the species started to become decidedly rare around here and nowadays it is a very scarce passage migrant usually in the early autumn and spring...

    (Jack Hawkins)

    So why the steep…

  • The People of Rainham Marshes - Tony Houston

    Hi everyone,

    How are you today?

    So, welcome to the first "People at Rainham Marshes" blog post! You know, there is more to a nature reserve than just the nature! There are more than 100 volunteers and staff that keep this fantastic nature reserve in shape! So this is where you come to find out more!

      Tony

    Our first "People at Rainham Marshes" is an interview with one of the reserve's fabulous volunteers,…

  • Lights on!

    As we were leaving the reserve on Tuesday night after the Crake Late Night Opening, I decided to have a slow cruise around the car park with the lights out to see if we had any Glow-worms....

    Sure enough I found two up on grass stems proclaiming their illuminating wondrousness....

    This female really was glowing as bright as the top image suggests.... great stuff..

    Please let me know if you find any of these fascinating…

  • We need your help..... it is ragwort time!..... again....

     The Ragwort is suddenly blooming across the reserve and as usual we have to remove it from those areas where the cattle feed as it is poisonous to them.

    And before you ask, yes we know that it is a vital foodplant for the black and yellow caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth but we leave plenty around the edges, outside the fence to allow us to keep a good population of this great day flying  moth....

    (Emily Gibson)

  • Chasing Shadows at Rainham

    Hi everyone,

    How are you?

    So a while ago we had some filming on site... ITV Chasing Shadows - a brand new drama filmed a little bit here at the reserve!

      This is the promo shot that is being used - and it was taken here at Rainham Marshes at the foreshore!

     

    The ITV website says about the show: "Chasing Shadows is a thrilling, new four-part drama, which focuses on the work of a missing persons field unit charged with…

  • Spontaneous Late Night Opening

    Spontaneous Late Night Opening...... tonight till dusk.... and yes it is so that you can all have a chance to see the Spotted Crake before the weather turns tomorrow.....

    Pat Hart got some video last night when out doing some survey work. Looks like it showed quite well from about 1945 onwards....

    Click here to see the video.....

    http://youtu.be/bxSMCUD59-0

    See you all later....

    H :o)

  • Calling all 11-16 year olds!

    Tomorrow is the first of this summers Warden events for 11-16 year olds!

    This summer 11-16 year olds can become a warden for the day, getting hands dirty taking part in hands on practical work. Teenagers will spend the afternoons with the RSPB wardens here at Rainham, find out what they do and get involved in giving nature a home. Activities in The Warden Experience include: cutting and raking, planting, making signs…

  • Today we remember.....Howard Jordan ... A Story...

    Today is a day to never forget.... One hundred years have past since the onset of the First World War and I felt that this blog post from last November was more than worthy of a revisit....

    Some time ago I was very fortunate to meet a lady called Philippa Carr in the Wildlife Garden at Rainham. We were talking butterflies and about the history of the site. Her father was with her and mentioned that his father had trained…

  • A Summer stroll with Autumn looming and a day to reflect

    I managed one of my all too infrequent ambles around the reserve before work this morning. I headed out into the warm sunshine with families of Whitethroats tacking and churring ahead of me. This is the time of year when warblers start to flock up and often join up with roving tits to gang up on the local invertebrate life and almost any green space with hold such groups. A young, mange free, Fox cub popped out on the…

  • In search of Lestes dryas

    Jerry Hoare is a lover of all things Odenata.... those delicate looking but voracious predators that are Dragonflies and Damselflies.....

    I will let Jerry take it from here....