With the reserve still closed to the public, wildlife is still out on the marsh and busy going about its daily life.

Trail cameras picked up these two over the weekend...

Yesterday whilst on site, there were 4 hobby hawking high over Aveley Marsh, looking like huge swifts and clearly catching plenty of food - probably including the early emerging hairy dragonflies which are now on the wing.

Several fields contained plenty of lapwing chicks, some of which are now getting to a good size. There is plenty of redshank activity still, including several birds displaying on shimmering wings, climbing and falling through the sky, but I haven't seen any hatched young yet. They are always a bit later than lapwing, so should be any day now.

A cuckoo was very vocal in the woodland.