Afternoon everyone,
How are you today?
On the 10th December launched our first challenge in The Steps Series.
Water Pipit - Russ Sherriff
The Steps Series is a set of challenges – everyone can help us walk or run the same distance as a migratory route of one of Rainham’s wildlife visitors, or even distances to places - all your steps can count!Rainham Marshes is a great place to explore - being active for even 10 minutes per day is really beneficial. If you are exploring, or trying to reach a fitness goal you will be doing something to keep you active.
For this first series we are trying as a whole reserve to match the distance that a water pipit flies on its migratory route, from the Alps to Rainham Marshes (536 miles or 1,179,200 steps!), all your steps count!
Water pipits are scarce winter visitors to Rainham, they are a small bird that is about the same size as a sparrow. They visit the reserve from the mountains of central Europe. This time of year they have brown on the head and back, and a streaky pattern on the breast. In the spring the head goes a lovely shade of steely blue and they get a nice pink breast too before they head off to breed in the Alps (which is 536 miles away!)
Rainham Marshes is a fantastic place for water pipits – you can often see them out on the muddy edges of the pools where they hunt for insects. In winter we manage the pools and waterways on site to make them good places for wildlife; the muddy edges are good for birds looking for insects in the mud, and the open water is good for a variety of ducks and geese.
In a week we have reached 330,000 steps! Well done everyone!
We still need more... don't forget to log your steps on your visit to us, most smartphones do have step counters on and if not please ask to borrow our pedometers (but please remember to give it back!)
Robyn has started a bar graph on a chalk board on the river wall so you can monitor how we are doing! She really wants to get to 400,000 by the end of this weekend... will we make it? Eep! The total steps to match a water pipit migration is 1,179,200, we are doing great so far but let's keep going!