Here's a wildlife update for April!
Woodland:Cuckoo, barn owl (in the box), song thrush, blackbird, robin, long tailed tit, blue tit, great tit, goldfinch, greenfinch, dunnock, wren, reed bunting, chiffchaff, blackcap, lesser white throat, cettis warbler, grass hopper warbler, willow warbler, green woodpecker, magpie, crow, raven, ladybirds, shieldbugs (mainly dock, hawthorn and green shieldbugs), hairy dragonfly, azure damselfly, speckled wood butterfly, meadow brown butterfly, small white butterfly, orange tip butterfly, green veined white butterfly, red admiral butterfly, peacock butterfly, small tortoiseshell butterfly, and white tailed bumblebee.
Peacock butterfly by Michael Frankling
Marshland Discovery Zone:Kingfisher (they are currently feeding young!), skylark (by the giant play Anthill), meadow pipit (by the giant play Anthill), grasshopper warbler (just before the MDZ in the sections of scrub alongside the path), weasel, grass snake, raft spider, and alder fly.
A clever kingfisher picture (it's only one bird but three pictures stuck together!) by Perry Andrews
Paths and boardwalks:Bearded tits (seen from both the Northern Boardwalk and the Dragonfly Pools), wheatear (by the toilets in the reedbed zone), linnet (by the shooting butts hide), and whinchat (dragonfly pools).
Bearded tit by Les Harrison
Aveley Marsh:Whimbrel, curlew, black tailed godwit, bar tailed godwit, little ringed plover, lapwing, redshank, greenshank, oystercatcher, shelduck, wigeon, gadwall, mallard, pochard, pintail, teal, tufted duck, cormorant, grey heron, little egret, great crested grebe, little grebe, coot, moorhen, and yellow wagtail.
Adorable lapwing chick by John Daly
Foreshore/ river/ Aveley Bay/ barges:Porpoise, seal, bottle nosed dolphins (on 7 April), wheatear, Arctic tern, common tern, common scoter, Arctic skua, glaucous gull, little gull (1 April), red brested merganser, grasshopper warbler,common sandpiper, oystercatcher, golden plover, and dunlin.
A red brested merganser by John Daly
Flying over:Swift, swallow, sand martin, house martin, osprey, red kite, buzzard, hobby, kestrel, marsh harrier, peregrine, mediterranean gulls, ring ouzel, spoonbill, and ring necked parakeet.
All over the reserve:Sedge warbler, reed warbler, cettis warbler, chiffchaff, blackcap, lesser white throat, song thrush, blackbird, robin, long tailed tit, blue tit, great tit, goldfinch, greenfinch, dunnock, wren, house sparrow, reed bunting, coot, moorhen, mute swan, Canada goose, greylag goose, shelduck, wigeon, gadwall, mallard, pochard, pintail, teal, tufted duck, cormorant, grey heron, little egret, great crested grebe, little grebe, crow, magpie, pheasant, speckled wood butterfly, meadow brown butterfly, small white butterfly, orange tip butterfly, green veined white butterfly, red admiral butterfly, peacock butterfly, small tortoiseshell butterfly, emporer moth, seven spot ladybird, pond skater, common lizard, marsh frog, watervole, fox, and weasel.
Water vole by Paul Smith
If you would like any details about when specific species were seen just ask - we can't guarentee that all these are stil here, but it give you an idea!