Well that was indeed a GOOD FRIDAY with one of our busiest ever days for visitors and such like.  The day got going really early and the car park soon filled to capacity and we had to park people on the approach road!

Weather wise it was a glorious spring day with five male and four female Common Scoter getting us off to a great start as they drifted up and down with the tdie for a few hours, I once more talked up a Red Kite that, like the one earlier in the week, snuck over the centre (cheers Lee!) while I was inside busily telling people about 'looking up, Lindo-style' as it felt like another Kite day!

After this there were numerous Buzzard to be seen with at least 15 counted moving through but no more of the hoped for Kites or dreamt of Ospreys! The Kingfishers were superb all day and they seem pretty well advanced on the courtship stakes with lots of QT being spent together and even the occasional, but very brief, liaison...

Joanne Gates

Basil Thornton

Jackie Thornton

and a great little video from Tom Bell too...

The Bearded Tits have started showing very well again - especially down by the Dragonfly Pool and with a bit of luck they have been climbing to the top and showing well.  A couple of Water Rails were seen well in one of the cuttings today and Cetti's Warblers are ramping up the volume while a couple of Water Pipits are now smartening up nicely!

Bearded Tit - Joanne Gates


Water Pipit - Jerry Hoare

Several Short-eared Owls have still been patrolling the river wall and centre marsh and after the terrible weather last nigh, even the Barn Owl was still on the wing at 0730! 

SEO - Karl Price

There are lots of Grey Herons and Little Egrets around and the pesky Great White Egret that I first saw on Thursday was seen again briefly this evening.  I am not sure just why this species is so secretive when on the deck at Rainham when they prance around in the open at places like Dungeness!  The Marsh Frogs are now awake so expect this activity to increase!

Grey Heron - Alan Reynolds

LIttle Egret - Tony O'Brien

Lapwings and Redshanks were even more active in the warm sunshine and the corvids (including Mr Raven) were given short shrift from the first response units!

Lapwings - Tony Coombs

There were a few butterflies to be seen today but the invert of the day went to Linda Peall who found and photogrpahed this snazzy little reed dwelling beetle called Odacantha melanura.

Migrant wise there was only a single Sand Martin and a couple of Chiffchaffs to report but despite the weather turning wet and wild it will be from the south-southwest and perhaps a few slightly damp sub-saharan visitors will make it to our shores.

And just a little heads up for the coming weekend at Rainham... There are our two Wild Families events on tomorrow, The Sunday Stroll on err Sunday as well as our special Optics Event for the whole weekend where we have managed to acquire some extra high end Swarovski optics, a bargainous Kowa scope, the new Zeiss 8x42 victory and our usual line of RSPB products including the superb HD and HDX range. So, please come along and have a try. If the weather is nice we shall try and put a marquee up outside but at the moment i suspect that we shall be indoors as usual! Look forward to seeing you after you have trotted down to the Adventure Play Area for a quick scamper over the new superb climbing boulders that we officially open tomorrow morning...

25-3-16