Hen Harrier Day 2018 is nearly here!

Saturday 11 August will see the third Hen Harrier Day at Rainham Marshes - an event organized by Birders Against Wildlife Crime to mark Hen Harrier Day 2018.

Join us to celebrate spectacular bird and raise awareness of its plight. Speakers include:

• David Lindo (”The Urban Birder”)
• Natalie Bennett (The Green Party)
• Martin Harper, RSPB Director of Global Conservation…

And so after the excitement of the Marsh Sandpiper twitch during 'normal hours', the second shift for the day started as it became time for the annual Big Wild Sleepout. All the guests turned up so wonderfully promptly that we were able to head out onto the reserve in very good time and (with pizza in hand) the party of about 30 of us wended our way through the amazingly verdant southern trail towards the RDZ…

Late on Friday afternoon Pat Hart and Bill Stallard found a moutling juvenile Marsh Sandpiper while doing the trail lock up in the extremely uncomfortable heat and humidity.

This dainty little Tringa was feeding actively on Aveley Pool with two Greenshank and was only the second record for the reserve with the first being an amazing 55 years ago in August 1963. It was also the first London recording area record since…

Evening all just a quick post as I am out this evening and trying to do this on my phone.

A good selection of waders today including Whimbrel, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff but it was the Marsh Sandpiper found by Pat and Bill that made the day. 

I think it is new to the reserve and the first in the London Recording area for 34 years....

Watch Pat Hart's  video here...

We shall open at 7am tomorrow so…

The reserve is crying out for rain with Aveley Pool being the only area still holding onto water and as such the returning passage waders are concentrated there along with a few loafing gulls...

• RSPB Rainham Marshes:- 45 Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, 3 Ruff, Common Sandpiper, 7 Little Ringed Plover, juv Med Gull, juv Caspian Gull

A juvenile Caspian Gull (still quite rae=re in te UK…

Saturday 11 August is the third Hen Harrier Day at Rainham Marshes - an event organized by Birders Against Wildlife Crime to mark Hen Harrier Day 2018.

Join us to celebrate spectacular bird and raise awareness of its plight. Speakers include David Lindo (”The Urban Birder”) and Martin Harper, RSPB Director of Global Conservation.

All money raised goes to Birders Against Wildlife Crime and they'll be…

Rainham Marshes volunteer Rob has signed himself up for the Prudential RideLondon - a 100 mile cycle challenge from London-Surrey, all in aid of the RSPB!

Rob has been volunteering here at Rainham for a number of years - helping out at events and with the Active in Nature project.

Rob cycling here at Rainham Marshes - picture taken by his daughter!

Rob said:

"I am doing this as I am passionate about cycling and wildlife…

So, the team of volunteers, staff and visitors have done a superb job of clearing a large swathe of Aveley Marsh of Ragwort within the electric fence, over the course of this week.

The team have done a great job but there is still plenty to do so we Rag Week is being extended for at least one more week.  If you can help us out on any morning(s) between Monday and Friday  for a couple of hours, please have yourself…

The Big Wild Sleepout is your chance to camp out at Rainham Marshes and experience the reserve in a totally different way!

Over Saturday 28-Sunday 29 July you can join us for an amazing opportunity... Grab your sleeping bag, tent, and torch and get ready to explore the reserve out of our usual opening hours. We will go for a late night walk to discover all the wonders of the night (will we see birds, moths, stars and…

Afternoon all... Just a quick reminder that this Friday is another one of our magical Late Night Openings. Not only will we (including the cafe) be open till dark but we shall have a double book signing going on with David Darrell-Lambert with his new book 'Birdwatching London' and Lev Parikian will be back with ' Why do birds suddenly disappear?'
Weather permitting there will be mothing too after dark…

Another hot week on the ranch although the mornings have been generally cooler apart from Monday which was unbearably humid until 7pm as the Late Night opening got going! It was a quiet evening but we did eventually get a sneaky sunset for three and a half minutes!

As with last week I managed several ventures into the wildlife garden but no circuits out onto the trails. My early morning prunings of the car park and entrance…

Just a quick post this evening to tempt you over the reserve this coming hot weekend especially if you wish to avoid football, tennis or both!

Friday 13th July 2018

• RSPB Rainham Marshes: imm Spoonbill, juv Med Gull, 300 Black-headed Gull, 17 Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Snipe, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, 3 Ruff, 7 Marsh Harrier, 10 Bearded Tits, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets. Curlew, juv & f Cuckoo

Another…

I have always wanted to see a Bee Beetle and I remember one being found across the Thames on Dartford Marsh one summer and thinking.. if there then why not here at RSPB Rainham Marshes? Then a few weeks back Frank found the first for the site on the Mullein on the river wall and my hopes were raised and so when Jerry Hoare discovered one in the Wildlife Garden yesterday the search was on to refind it. It took a little…

Bring the whole family to Rainham Marshes this summer to enjoy your own nature adventure!

Enjoy walks, fantastic views over the River Thames and the marshes, hire a bicycle, play in our adventure and toddlers playground and climb on our climbing boulders, join a family event, have lunch or a snack in our café, and browse in our shop.

Rainham Marshes by Jesper Mattias (rspb-images.com)

Rainham Marshes is…

And so the end of my day went something like this... oh look the A13 is slowing down, ah... the M25 is closed at j30, oh... the QEII Bridge is now closed, ***... all routes into and out of the area are now stuffed, just great... the Blackwall Tunnel is now closed.

And thus I was forced by these cruel twists of fate to stay at ‘work’ till 8pm before an escape became a plausible option. I made myself go out for a horrible…

Thankfully the weather has been kind to us for the duration of National Insect Week and the reserve has been alive with a plethora of insects. The first proper flush of Meadow Browns have emerged along with Ringlets, Small and Large Skippers. Speckled Woods are dancing once again and the first Marbled White of the season was gliding along the river wall on Friday.

Small Tortoiseshell - Bernard Bradshaw

Meadow Brown…

Here at Rainham, we have been working with Thames Chase Community Forest - a lovely local forest not too far from the reserve. Just wanted to tell you a little about this lovely local forest...

Photo courtesy of the Thames Chase Trust.

Thames Chase Community Forest covers 40 square miles of countryside around the London/Essex borders. The forest is managed by the Thames Chase Trust, a local charity dedicated to improving…

Have you noticed the pile of wood dust by one of the benches at the bottom of the ramp?

Here's what's making it... Ectemnius cephalotes - sometimes known as a Big Headed Wasp

In she goes - Phil Collins

The female wasps excavate nest burrows in old pieces of wood. They will often share an entrance – three were seen entering before any of them came out again.
They construct chambers within the…

The Kids Birdwatching Club at Rainham has been around for at least twelve years now, thanks to the initial support of Peter Holden who encouraged me in my plan to set up an event for budding young ornithologists on the reserve at a time when an onsite Wildlife Explorers Club was not a possibility.

It has always catered for all ages and by involving the parents it has always been an eclectic group of likeminded souls…

Have you ever thought about volunteering?

Volunteering is a brilliant way to meet new people, be active, learn new things, it's great for your CV, you get to spend time on a lovely reserve too.

The RSPB has more than 12,000 fantastic volunteers and between them, they contribute almost one million hours every year!

You can find out about volunteering for the RSPB, and all the different roles around the UK on the…

The weather has been a bit of a mixed bag this week with a glorious hot Bank Holiday Monday being followed by the Biblical storm of Tuesday (I have never been so wet!) and then descending into a murky misty haze that has lasted till this morning when the sun has just managed to force itself through.

The Spoonbill was seen until Wednesday and a male Mandarin on BHM was only the third for the reserve and caused me to scoot…

Get on your bike!

Bike Week, delivered by Cycling UK, is an annual opportunity to talk about cycling and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life.

Bike Week website tell us that the first Bike Week took place "in 1923 – 95 years ago! It was, and always has been, a great opportunity to highlight the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, with a core aim of getting people to give cycling a…

20% off 12.75kg sacks of bird food excluding peanuts till 5 June