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 path and bogged me out for a few seconds before loping off and the first of three vividly coloured Jersey Tiger moths flew across in front of me.

The water has dropped dramatically on Purfleet Scrape and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, two Green Sandpipers and several probing stripy Snipe could be seen along with dozing Teal and six Little Egrets.

The Cordite smelt of ripe Blackberries and Marmalade hoverflies were investigating the remaining Bindweed trumpets and Greenbottles, Flesh Flies and the ubiquitous Musca atumnalis were hanging round on leaves like kids on a corner...

Chiffchaffs were ‘howeeting’ and Blackcaps were tacking while a Cetti’s Warbler scolded my passing. Between here and the Ken Barrett Hide the grass was occupied by numerous Wasp Spider and their silken traps for the unwary grasshopper. Clive Watts has continued to count them this year and got to 126 yesterday... They still have some growing to do so keep watching.

Aveley Pool is looking fabulous with muddy edges and Marc’s Fingers now showing well and some algal mats appearing. Several Green Sandpipers and two Black-tailed Godwits were feeding out amongst the loafing duck and stroppy Coots. A couple of Bearded Tits pinged from the reeds and I could still hear the soft churring of begging Reed Warblers suggesting that the breeding season is far from over. The high pitched squeaks of Water Shrews came from just off the boardwalk and a couple of early Lizards had stored up enough energy to scuttle away from me with alacrity.  Just after I passed, David Smith saw a Spotted Crake dash briefly along the back edge of the pool.....

One of our juvenile Marsh Harriers was out on patrol and was busily quartering the marsh for a spot of early breakfast. Perhaps the birds know that she is still learning but nothing even budged an inch despite her close proximity.

Past the Butts Hide and onto the Mantlet and Brick Building where John Chandler’s striking artwork was a stark reminder that today is the day when Britain entered the First World War in 1914 (sorry but cannot bring myself to type the word Great) and that many of our troops trained and were despatched from here under the notion that they would be back for Christmas....

A postcard from 1917...

Further on three families of Linnets were feeding in the spent mustard plants with the streaky youngsters still begging for food from their beleaguered parents. The Dragonfly Pool with still with no Marsh Frogs to break the silence and only the family of Little Grebes broke the still surface but then, only just, with near silent submerging. The hoped for Bearded Tits duly appeared and I saw one male and five youngsters to a few feet although they refused to sit up for me. Little flocks of Swallows pulsed east and there were more Linnets with a charm of mainly young Goldfinches by the turnstile gate.

Once up on the river wall a female Common Seal was immediately visible as she lounged on the mud. She was quite curious and kept looking up to see what I was doing. A brood of young Shelduck tried to fly away from me but they only had rudimentary flight feathers and have a bit more growing to do yet. The parents stood guard till they were safely out of my way.

Solitary Lapwings and Whimbrel warily let me pass and two young Lesser Black-backed Gulls were giving an adult Common Tern some serious grief over the tiny sliver of a fish it had caught but they eventually got bored and drifted off....

If you closed your eyes you could really kid yourself that your were by the proper seaside with the sharp salty iron smell of the freshly emerged seaweed, the chugging of the boats and the schlop of the mini waves against the shore. With the temperature rising the grass began to sing to the sound of countless Coneheads, Grasshoppers and Crickets and Gatekeeper butterflies were the only species so far on the wing with the reserve practically to themselves.

Back just before nine to be greeted by nearly 180 House Sparrows diligently foraging for seeds on the lawns outside the centre.... a fine success story to end a relaxing walk out...