After a bitterly cold and grey May it was nice to have a little warmth at the end there has been plenty to see and hear out on the trails over the last few days.
The marsh is now full of breeding birds with Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warblers in full song along with some smart male Reed Buntings at last.
Cetti's warbler - Bob Cooper
Reed Warbler - Alan Chown
Reed Bunting - HTV
Bearded Tits are having a good breeding season and there are several pairs around the loop with broods of bandit faced juveniles becoming quite obliging at times.
Bearded Tit - Pete Woods
Another juvenile male Bearded Tit - Bob Cooper
Hobbies have been seen on nicer days and were sometimes swirling around the car park area with the Swifts while the roving flocks of young Starlings have to watch out as the Hobbies are quite partial to them as well as any avian insect!
Hobby - Sam Levy
Common swift - Andrew Litchfield
Damp juvenile Starlings - Russ Sherriff
A Spoonbill dropped in for a while last Thursday and the Avocets now have several chicks out and about to join the Redshanks and Lapwings already tottering around the marsh. The first Pochard brood has been seen and there are three Great Crested Grebes broods around the Aveley Pool area. Water Voles have started to be seen again along with hunting Grass Snakes in the ditches.
Spoonbill - HTV
Avocets - Stephen Cox
Avocet chick - Sam Levy
Lapwing chick - Pete Woods
Water Vole - Gareth Williams
The Photography Hide has been in use most days and the visitors have been getting some great result.
Great Spotted Woodpecker - John Humble
Greenfinch - Neal Roper
Insects suddenly appeared with an eruption of Azure and Blue tailed Damselflies and a couple of Four Spot Chasers and Hairy Dragonflies. Green Hairstreaks were seen nectaring on the Hawthorns and Geulder-rose where they gleamed in the sunshine and Common and Holly Blues were now on the wing.
Azure Damselfly - HTV
Green Hairstreak - HTV
Holly Blue - HTV
There were lots more Hoverflies around including two new ones for the reserve that I found on the same short walk and Early and Common Carder Bees were the principle visitors to the Rosemary by the Centre while several female Red Mason Bees attempted to colonise a small bug house and the mouth of a rubber frog on our Membership table!
Meligramma euchromum - HTV
Anasimyia transfuga - HTV
female Heliophanus species of Jumping Spider - HTV
Wasp Beetle - HTV
The Marsh Frogs have been so noisy that we can hear them from the car park and the Cuckoo has been equally audible from here and make occasional fly by visits.
Big female Marsh Frog path crossing- HTV
Cuckoo - Pete Woods
The marsh is now in full ‘summer’ mode so will be alive with wildlife for you to encounter on your next visit. Hope to see you soon.
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer