This week we have a couple of boardwalk closures this week, so I wanted to let you know.
Tuesday 11 June - we will be closing a section of boardwalk on the northern trails so you will not be able to complete a whole circuit. The fantastic wardening team will be fixing the sub-frame of the boardwalk around the northern boardwalk. You will be able to go clockwise to the Shooting Butts hide, or anti-clockwise to the Ken Barrett hide and the viewing platforms along the northern trail.
Here you can see the volunteers replacing some of the frame earlier this year near the Purfleet hide
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On Thursday 13 June - we will be closing a section boardwalk between the Purfleet hide and Marshland Discovery Zone to do some repairs. This means that if you would like to do a complete loop you will have to go anticlockwise through the woodland and exit through the turnstile and walk back to the centre along the river. The Purfleet, Ken Barrett and Shooting Butts hides will be open.
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We have a few events coming up this week too that you might be interested in...
Grahame Madge (rspb-images.com)
Want to learn more about bees and how to identify them? Enjoy a walk with our bee expect on Saturday 15 June, 1-4 pm: Flight of the Bumblebee - bee id walk. (For more details click on the title).
All our bees are declining but here at Rainham Marshes we are doing everything we can to look after these amazing invertebrates - we have a good variety of the commoner species as well as some that are nationally scarce.
Join us on a summer amble to learn more about these vital pollinators along with a host of their much smaller solitary relatives.
Price: £6 (£5 for RSPB members), children £2.50 (£1.50 for RSPB members). Booking essential - give us a call on 01708 899851 or email rainham.marshes@rspb.org.uk
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Ben Andrews (rspb-images.com)
Treat Dad this Fathers Day (Sunday 16 June 2019). Enjoy a lunch special in our café (keep reading for details!), Dad’s go free on the reserve, join the Wildlife Walk to discover nature at Rainham Marshes, and buy a special gift from our shop!
Delight Dad to a new pair of binoculars (our optics experts will be around to help you), or pick up a fabulous book, or buy something for his garden. Dads get half price bike hire, and you can get half price photographic tuition on 16 June. We offer gift vouchers if you would like to treat Dad! Call us to find out more: 01708 899840
Father's Day Café Special - only available on Father's Day!
MSC breaded cod served with new potatoes, peas and salad. £7.50 per person.
This will be served at 1pm - you will need to be here just before. Pre-booking is required - to book please call us on 01708 899851 or ask at reception.
It's not coming up this week - but just a quick heads up for our Late Night Opening and Moth Night on Friday 21 June, and the Big Wild Sleepout (sleep out under the stars at the reserve) on Saturday 3 August!
Rahul Thankie (rspb-images.com)
Our amazing learning team are busy taking groups of school children on special day trips on the reserve. It's a fantastic opportunity for children discover the delights of wildlife. These unique and memorable hands-on learning activities brings wildlife and nature to life for our next generation of wildlife lovers.
Our school trips are all curriculum linked, suitable for all ages and there are options for a full day or a half day. If you would like to know more about the school trips, including the different course options, look here, or email education.rainham@rspb.org.uk
It's fantastic that we are busy over June and July - lots of children will be enjoying nature, today’s children are losing their connection to nature and we want to change that! If you visit over the next couple of month's you may see the groups out and about. From time to time they may be using some of the public areas such as the picnic area, Purfleet hide, and wildlife garden - they won't be there for long, we appreciate your understanding!
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There has been lots of wildlife recently - Howard likes to say it's the time of year where you are knee deep in baby birds! I know the lapwing have been doing really well so do keep your eyes pealed for these little bundles of fluff!
The other waders have been showing well too - dunlin, avocet, redshank, oystercatcher, ringed plover, and little ringed plover.
The swallow, swift, house and sand martin are whizzing around overhead showing nicely.
Birds of prey have included peregrine, kestrel, buzzard, marsh harrier, hobby and barn owl.
There have been a lot of other wildlife too - fantastic numbers of flowers, butterflies, bees, dragonflies and even some great views of water voles! Do let us know when and where you see a water vole - we are adding all of your water vole sightings to our surveying information, this enables us to get a better picture of numbers and distribution of our nationally important population of water voles! Thank you!
This lovely water vole picture was taken by volunteer David Dent the other day!