Hi Folks

Sorry everyone but due to a shortage of staff we will not be able to run the Moth Night this Friday (2nd July) for health & safety reasons.

Apologies for this but there will be another one on Friday Agust 6th, starting at 2100

cheers

H ;o)

morning, just a quick note to say that the shope will be opening at 10am today. Sorry for any inconvenience caused

A sultry day with some much needed rain this morning which was great as we planted loads more flowers in the wildlife garden yesterday. We have also discovered a colony of a rare longhorn moth that lives on Black Horehound (a type of non-stingy nettle) that fortunately we have a lot of!

 Nemophora fasciella Horehound Longhorn by me

The Merganser is still in Aveley Bay and the reserve is alive with dragonflies now

Just a couple more bits if news:

• The reserve is open till dusk tonight so why not drop in for the guided walk at 7pm of come along and do your own thing
• We are getting there with the Shooting Butts Hide; please be patient with us, we are nearly there.
• If there is anyone out there who feels that they can assist as an Afternoon Roving Information Ranger volunteer in the latter half of the day to help trail walk and lock…

With glorious weather for a few days the river wall has been alive with the sound of buzzing bees (and yes they are still around the centre!) feeding on the purple vetch, ox-eye daisies and red poppies. The Merganser is still in Aveley Bay and the Hobbies have been taking advantage of the numerous dragons and damsels.

Lots more good insects around too! 

Flowers by Sam Shippey

Flowering Rush by me

Eristalis…

Somehow managed both the Insect Afternoon and KBC walks today with only a few spots of rain! Tipped it down lunchtime from the warmth of the centre with a nice cuppa and sausage sani!

Anyway, Merganser was still around today but generally still pretty quiet. The Mute Swans still have seven cygnets and the Great Crested Grebes are still on the nest.

The KBC gets to grips with a fearsome caterpillar!

Some funky flies…

A very cool north wind this morning already has me regretting wearing sandals! Just wish things would settle down. Yesteday we were descended upon by a huge swarm of honey bees which although a delight to see was not so popular once they deceided that once again the visitors centre would be a great place to spend the summer. A very helpful guy from the Essex Beekeepers Association spent the evening trying to coax them…

Evening all

Sorry been quiet for a few days but have been up in Yorkshire at our wonderful Bempton Cliffs reserve watching very un-Rainham like birds such as Gannets, Puffins and cute Tree Sparrows!

Gannets by me

Tree Sparrow by Barry Jackson

Anyway back to Rainham Marshes. Bugs still holding sway on the interest front with a couple more species of wonderful Longhorn moth and a very unseasonal female Red-breasted…

... and fitting in with the gloomy weather it is with regret that we have had to take the difficult decision to cancel the autumn fayre on the marsh on September 18-19. This is due to a generally very poor response from exhibitors and stall holders. Sorry... :o(

Look out for next years big relaunch!

Firstly, thanks for all your images on the gallery of late. The Great Spot Woodpeckers have now fledged successfully and there are generally lots of baby birds around at the moment. A female Marsh Harrier showed again yesterday but it is generally pretty quiet bird wise at the moment as you would expect in June. Very humid yesterday but none of the predicted rain. This morning however is windy, grey and drizzly and not…

As I said earlier, heaving with insects today including this stunning micro moth with feelers four times as long as its body!

It goes by the name of Nemophra degeerella and surely deserves an lovely English name! Shot (as in photographed) by Brenda Clayton

... and now for some more info on that very rare ground bug.

It goes by the latin name of Rhyparochromus vulgaris and although common on the continent had not yet been recorded in the UK. It resembles several other species but those in the know are cock-a-hoop about our little find!

Quiet bird wise today bar two new female Marsh Harriers (perhaps suggesting failed breeding somewhere in the south-east?). Lots of butters…

Hot of the press (well my pc anyway...) is news that an interesting little ground bug that I snapped a couple of weeks back is in fact completely new to the British Isles although it has been predicted as a colonizer. I leave it there for the moment but will post more details and a nice snap very soon!

Birdwise it has been very quiet (probably not related to my absence so far this week on a training course in Milton…

Last nights rain has left the reserve looking positively verdant this morning. It is still overcast now but the temperature has risen slightly and the sun is trying to peak through. A Spotted Flycatcher was seen yesterday but there was no sign of it this morning but a Turtle Dove was ample recompense. Hundreds of Swifts around and the Sand Martins have been coming down to dust bath on top of the river wall.

Spotted…

Who would have thought that yesterday it nearly reached 30c and that today would be 12c cooler. However this change and the easterly wind that brought it delivered a few waders this afternoon to the reserve with a Turnstone and 16 Ringed Plover on the foreshore and a drake Garganey out on the Target Pools. No Kites today but there had obviously been an unprecedented movement going on with 13 local sightings since the…

Nice to have a day off out of the sun to be honest! However, just because I am not there does not mean that I do not get to find out about the birds!

Three Marsh Harriers today including a wing-tagged immature male and our fifth Red Kite in eight days! Just wish the Spoonbill would come back.

oh and I may have got that Jumping Spider wrong.... will post back when I have sussed it out!

... and boy did it get warm today! Too hot to be out for long for anyone and even the insect and bird life went quiet in the middle of the day.  A day to sit back and enjoy the view with a nice cuppa and a bit of cake!

The dawn chorus was another great success with everyone getting excellent views of the male Cuckoo. An early birder struck lucky this morning with a Spoonbill that left at 0820 before we even knew it…

Here again before the sun dared to show its face. Rainham is quite peacfeul at 3am albeit with a background of croaking frogs, chattering Sedge Warblers, gurking Reeds, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens and even a Cuckoo, redshank and Lapwing joining in before the first rays.

Looks like it will be another gorgous day...

A beautiful day on the reserve but quiet bird wise although eight Hobbies, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard and a Red Kite (west at 11am) were seen. The Great Crested Grebes seem to have another nest and Lapwings are displaying again. Highlight for me was a fine male Emperor Moth, the first adult we have ever seen here despite years of finding the groovy caterpillars. Also seven ladybird species today and a new Jumping Spider species…

afternoon all

Another glorious day on the reserve. At least seven Hobbies have kept us entertained all day along with a couple of Buzzards and the female Marsh Harrier. Lots of insects on the wing today as well. Oh and the Raven was seen again yesterday!

There are still a few places left on the Insect Afternoon walk tomorrow from 1pm!

Another fine start to the day which gradually warmed itself to respectability. Lots of insect life today with 11 species of butterfly including only the second ever Green Hairstreak for the reserve. Hairy Hawkers started to emerge and the first Blur-tailed Damsels joined the Large Reds.

Green Hairstreak by Brenda Clayton

Hairy Hawker by Peter Warne

The wildlife garden pond now looks fabulous and Ragged Robin and…

Having seemingly avoided the coldest, windiest start to May in many years, it was rather nice to have prolonged spells of sunshine this afternoon across the reserve with occasional showers that generally gave us enough warning to be able to scuttle back inside!

Anyway still fairly quiet with two Whimbrel being the only passage waders at all, even over the high tide. Lots of hirundines and Swifts on the move though.…

Sorry for the lack of posts but I have been away on a well deserved break in Lesvos. Ok, so a bit of a Busmans Holiday but the birding, weather, food, scenery and other wildlife was amazing.

Been back two days and on the reserve from 0300 this morning for our first of two Dawn chorus events.  Everyone is still out with the the walk leaders at the moment but despite the forecast, the day has started clear, bright, sunny…

The sun is shining (again!) and the frogs are croaking. Yesterday saw the arrival of hundreds of Sand Martins and several flocks of Swifts. Two Hobbies were seen zooming around and three Marsh Harriers were noted. Today the Whimbrel flock has reached 13 with birds sitting on their regular high tide posts just out from the Purfleet Visitor Centre and a Spotted Redshank dropped in in his sooty summer finery. Whitethroats

Feels like I have been up forever! Yes I know it is my weekend off but I could not resist an early morning visit (0430) to the edges of the reserve. Several reeling Grasshopper Warblers have been heard this week. Unfortunately most are in restricted areas (sorry folks!) but a couple are audible from public areas. The area of marsh adjacent to the reserve, just south of Rainham C2C station (Rainham North) is currently…