Wanted to do an update yesterday but just do not know where the time goes!

Anyway, it has been an interesting week with somewhat inclement weather but a good array of birds including some goodies. Check out www.elbf.co.uk for the full list for the day but undoubted highlight was the Cattle Egret that was found mid-afternoon. It showed very well from the new Shooting Butts Hide for a couple of hours in terrible rain.…

Things have become a little static for the moment with the westerly airflow holding back many new migrants. Ruff, Whimbrel and Avocet are still to be found and a Knot was killed and consumed by a Grey Heron on Friday morning. At least four Whinchat and a couple of Wheatears are around and a Black Redstart was seen briefly on Saturday morning.

Water Voles are still showing very well and a nice Southern Hawker was photographed…

Another pretty good day on the reserve although strangely enough there was no sign of the White-winged Black Tern given the close call it had with death at the mercy of a local Peregrine. Also seen were 12 Little Egrets, 6 Green Sandpipers, 5 Common Sandpipers, 8 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Curlew, 6 Oystercatchers, 4 Avocet, 8 Ringed Plover, 5 Dunlin, 2 Ruff, 7 Redshank, 4 Snipe, 5 Whinchats, 4 Wheatear, 12 Yellow Wagtail…

I must have had a day off!  There I am watching absolutely nothing on the Thames off Canvey Island bar the inside of my eyelids, when I get the news that a White-Winged Black Tern had been found on Aveley Pools on my beloved reserve.

This species is a scarce visitor from eastern Europe at this time of year and has been a long overdue addition to the already impressive list for the reserve.

Needless to say I did not…

And it ended up being a very good day on the reserve with over 90 species recorded including 16 wader species, five raptors and four terns.

Total for the day included: 103 Commons Terns, 3 Arctic Tern, Black Tern, Little Tern, Wheatear, 4 Avocet, Oystercatcher, Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpiper, 8 Green Sandpiper, 3 Wood Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank, 2 Redshank, 2 Ruff, 58 Lapwing, Little Ringed plover, 10 Ringed…

Already today 14 species of wader have been seen on site and the Thames forshore has not even been checked yet so that could go up! Amongst thise seen have been Avocets, Ruff and Wood Sandpiper so who knows what else could be out lurking on the pools. A Marsh Harrier and Yellow Wagtail have also added early morning interest.

The heavy rain showers of recent days have helped green up the reserve and there are now several…

me again

Does not hurt to post a list every now and then and it certainly shows that birds are on the move...

Yesterday saw the following: 3 Turnstone, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Green Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpiper, 3 Ruff, 8 Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Wheatear while a female Serin was seen by the Serin Mound with other finches and must surely point to locally present birds rather than migrants given the early date??

Today…

... and have just found out that the red-tagged Marsh Harrier is one of this years young from Stodmarsh NNR in the Stour Valley in Kent

Sorry for the absence for a few days... been away! Yes, I do escape from the reserve occasionally!

Anyway, we still have a good selection of waders on Aveley Pools and the Thames foreshore with Curlew, Whimbrel, Avocet, Black Tailed Godwit, 6 Redshank, Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin, 2 Ruff, 3 Green Sandpiper and 4 Common Sandpiper!

Two young Avocets (Paul Hawkins)

The woodland was jumping with warblers yes…

morning all

Just been told that a couple of places are advertising tonights Moth event as starting at 1900. This is not the case as it will still be light for ages! The correct time is meet at the visitor center at 2100 before walking down to the event. It should finish at about midnight so bring a torch!

Costings are as normal and there are still several places available

Fingers crossed now for a dry spell this evening…

The rain still seems to be passing us by; we see the clouds, get a few spots and then watch the heavens open somewhere else followed by people coming in saying ' oooh, Romford is under three inches of water!' Pah!

At least Aveley Pools are still wet and the birds are still dropping in. Today we had : 25 Little Egrets, 73 Lapwings, 4 Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Redshank, Ruff, 4 Dunlin, 5…

Aveley Pool is just getting better and better and today hosted the following species of wader: 11 Black Tailed Godwit, 11 Little Ringed Plovers, Ruff, 3 Common Terns, 5 Green Sandpipers, 3 Greenshank, 5 Snipe, Redshank along with a hawking Hobby and many Sand Martins. Down on the Thames a single Bar-tailed Godwit was noteworthy along with 2 Whimbrel. Four Sandwich terns headed west up river.

There has been a big…

The wind dropped and the temperature rose again and there were actually plenty of waders to see on Aveley Pools with 7 Little Ringed Plovers, 7 Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, 3 Redshanks, 8 Greenshanks, 2 Whimbrel, 27 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Oystercatchers present along with 17 Little Grebes, 121 Coots, 27 Moorhens, Greylag Goose family, Wigeon, 5 Gadwall, 64 Mallard, 5 Common Tern, 32 Little Egrets and  33 Grey…

Sorry cold not resist another post. Our House Sparrow flock has been increasing steadily in recent weeks and this evening there were nearly 100 feeding on wind blown grass seed on the center exit ramp. There are over 70 in this photo!

evening all

A day of gale force southerly winds that swept across the reserve swishing through the sea of grass. Still a fair selection of waders on Aveley Pools but Dungeness still has our White-tailed Plover! It is good to share though! Today we had : 4 Common Tern, 28 Little Egrets, 5 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, 2 Redshanks, 2 Greenshanks, 20 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Whimbrel.

Somehow we were graced with a rain free 10th Anniversary event on the reserve today despite the inclement weather in the morning. All went well and were graced by not only Bill Oddie but the present and previous Chief Execs of the RSPB, Dr Mike Clarke and Sir Graham Wynne as well as a host of other guests.

We even caught Bill watching the Skylarks and making notes...

Back to normal tomorrow, another Wednesday Walk…

... we did not really want it today as we have all our VIPs turning up for our 10th Anniversary do!

Hope it does not get any harder!

However, the reserve needs the rain and it smells wonderful after 22 days of dry! Quite a few waders yesterday with Common and Green Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwits and Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers. An adult Med Gull with a jet black head was on Aveley pools and a few Common…

Sorry could not resist some more pics of yesterday's superstar as well as some great crowd shots taken by Jono Lethbridge

Tony Coombs

Matthew Deans

and a bird round up for the day: Ringed Plover, 2 Greenshank, 22 Whimbrel, 3 Green Sandpipers, Wigeon, 2 Teal, Water Rail, 7 Little Ringed Plovers, 6 Redshanks, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, Common Sandpiper, 16 Little Egrets, Kingfisher.

sorry me again... thought some of you may like to have a look at the press release for our 10th Anniversary celebrations next week... We have a VIP event on Tuesday and Bill Oddie will be coming along too!  So a big thanks from me and all the team on the reserve for sticking with us as we grow and evolve. Who knows what the next ten years will bring?

Unfortunately after the glory of yesterday, we were left with many sad faced birders today as the White-tailed Plover failed to appear at first light and obviously departed before any of us got up despite being here since the crack of dawn!

Scant consollation was had with a flight of 20 Whimbrels south and five Med Gulls on the landfill site.

I wonder where it will go next?

At long last Rainham Marshes has attracted another huge rarity in the shape of an elegantly leggy White-tailed Plover. This extreme vagrant has only been seen here on five previous occasions before today and is already drawing a huge crowd of admirers.

All these lovely pictures taken by Sam Shippey who first picked the bird up before showing me in teh scope.  Needlessto say I am a very happy bunny this afternoon…

By the end of yesterday there were 67 Black-tailed Godwits on Aveley Pool and at least three Green Sandpipers. Little Egrets reached 21 but today have already risen to 33 including the first juveniles on the season. Wonder if they came from Northward Hill? In the past colour ringed juveniles have indeed come from North Kent but also as far afield as Cotswold Water park in Wiltshire! Only two smart Black-tailed Godwit…

Morning all

A cloudy day but still warm. There was some evidence of wader movement at the weekend with Wood and Green Sandpipers seen and this morning 40 Black-tailed Godwits and two Green Sandpipers have been seen on Aveley Pools. A colour ringed Grey Heron requires closer scrutiny to read the code and two broods of Shelduck have been found on the Thames.

Skylarks are well in song and there are lots of Cinnabar moth…