I thought  I would do a little update about some of the wildlife that has been seen onsite over the last couple of days!

Over the past few days we have had very high tides - and it has been a bit breezy...

Tony O'Brien took these fantastic shots of the wild looking River Thames on Thursday and Friday:

The weekend wasn't quite as blowy so we had quite a few different wildlife highlights...

The wildfowl numbers are starting to build up so the pools are looking great at the moment.

The goldcrest and firecrest are still showing in the woodland. It's worth keeping an eye in the woodland for all sorts of woodland birds - robin, blackbird, great tit, blue tit, goldfinch, greenfinch, as well as fieldfare and redwing.

We've had some nice views of the marsh harrier, kestrel and short-eared owl flying over the reserve.

Waders have included black-tailed godwit, ruff, avocet, golden plover, redshank, snipe, common sandpiper, and lapwing.

 

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Speaking of black-tailed godwit - the new Step Series walking challenge is all about these fabulous creatures. 

For this challenge in the series we are trying as a whole reserve to match the distance that a black-tailed godwit flies on its migratory route, from the Rainham Marshes to Iceland (1369 miles or 3,011,800 steps!), all your steps count!
This picture is of a wintering black-tailed godwit by Jerry Hoare
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At the end of this month it's the Big Garden Birdwatch 27 - 29 January 2018.
Take an hour to watch the birds in your garden or local park.
Around 500,000 people took part in the last birdwatch. That's a LOT of birds counted! Now it's your chance to join in, and count the wildlife that's counting on you. Request your FREE pack now and get your 20% discount and free P&P at our online shop.

You can also stock up with your bird food at the shop here at Rainham Marshes...