These are some of the wildlife highlights from this week:
Waders shave been showing well - including wood sandpiper (Target Pools on 26 April), spotted redshank (Target Pools on 25 April), redshank, greenshank (Target Pools on 26 April), ruff, avocet, lapwing, whimbrel, water rail, little ringed plover, bar tailed godwit, and oystercatcher.
Redshank by Tony O'Brien
A ring ouzel was seen on the river wall on 25 April.
Sand martin, house martin, and swallow have been seen flying past and over in small numbers - summer is nearly here!
Marsh harrier, hobby, kestrel, and buzzard have all been flying around - keep your eyes to the skies!
Blackcap, white throat, lesser white throat, song thrush, chiffchaff, have all been singing away, there has been the occasional cuckoo calling too. A grasshopper warbler and garden warbler were seen and heard a few days ago but they haven't been reported for a couple of days.
Little grebe and great crested grebe are around the reserve.
Mark Vale captured this brilliant picture of a little grebe fishing yesterday.
The cattle egret popped in for a day on the 20 April, but the little egrets are showing nicely.
Lovely little egret by Andy Hibbard
Spring is upon us with lots of little fluffy bundles running around - keep an eye out for the lapwing chicks and all the other adorable little ones...
Greylag geese family by Andy Hibbard
This adult coot is busy feeding it's young - by Andy Hibbard
There has been a few butterflies, dragonflies, water vole and grass snakes been seen as well.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Download day has arrived for the RSPB's single - Let Nature Sing. Sadly, most people don't realise that our wildlife is under threat. But, we're fighting back. Help us get nature into the UK Top 40 for International Dawn Chorus Day on 5 May - find out more go to www.rspb.org.uk/letnaturesing
Path Closures and Updates:
Today (Saturday 27 April) a section of the woodland (including the Cordite Store) is closed today, although you can still complete a whole loop if you use the adventure playground and outer loop of the woodland (on the map below the green path).
On Monday 29 April we will be closing a section of boardwalk between the Purfleet hide and Marshland Discovery Zone to do some repairs.
This means that if you would like to do a complete loop you will have to go anticlockwise through the woodland and exit through the turnstile and walk back to the centre along the river. All hides will be open.