Thursday 17th August 2017

121 Arctic Terns, ad Roseate Tern (seen twice), 57 Common Tern, juv Med Gull, 15 Great Black-backed Gulls, 7 Yellow-legged Gulls, 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Common Gull, Avocet, Greenshank, Redshank, 7 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 9 Dunlin, Sanderling, 12 Ringed Plover, 42 Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Whimbrel, 16 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Snipe, 800 Starling, 6 Little Egret, Willow…

The 2018 diaries that you have all been waiting for have arrived and are in stock in our lovely shop as of today along with the full calendar range.

And there is still 15% off all Christmas cards, calendars and diaries until the 3rd September.

Oh and there is also currently 20% off all 12.75kg sacks of bird food (excluding peanuts, buggy nibbles and high energy sprinkles) until the 28th August...

Morning all...

We have a couple of evening events coming up at the start of September which may catch your interest..

Late Night Opening and Moth Night

Friday 1 & Friday 8 September, 9.30 am - dusk (approx 11 pm)

The reserve will remain open till dusk (which will be about 11 pm) so that you can come along and soak up the tranquility of the marsh as the day starts to fade.  

Many birds start singing again in a last…

Maurice Speaks #3

Quis est iste qui venturus est:

It is of course Maurice and he welcomes you once again to all things Purfleetish and Rainhamesque.

A week or so ago I did retrace my steps back to the cyclopean Purfleet Heritage Centre. But this sojourn was no mere whimsical fancy by a carefree medieval obsessed traveller. No. I was here to savour the sights sounds and tastes of our local Thurrock Nepalese Ghurkha…

Thursday 10th August 2017
RSPB Rainham Marshes: juv Kittiwake, f Common Scoter, Sanderling, 4 Whimbrel, Curlew, 4 Avocet, 9 Dunlin, 2 Greenshank, 6 Ringed Plover, 7 Common Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpiper, 44 Black-tailed Godwit, 12 yellow Wagtail, garden warbler, 70 Common Tern, 3 Hobby, f Sparrowhawk, juv f Peregrine

Family of Avocets in the Bay - Andy Tweed

Not a bad selection today.... saw most of this from the centre…

And somehow the weather gods decreed that we would hold our Hen Harrier Day and it would remain dry for all of the most important bits...

The day stated early and by 6am we were on site and putting in the finishing touches for the big day ahead. The early morning mizzle had blown through and the sun had come out and the lack of wind helped prevent signage ending up in Kent!

With a good crowd already in attendance…

Hen Harrier Day RSPB Rainham Marshes 5th August 2017

So, we are nearly all ready.... I have not had any time for extra Harrier-on-a-stick making so if you still have one from last year then remember to bring it with you along with any other banners and signs you care to make.

The rally is FREE.... families welcome, usual dog rules apply, cafe and shop as normal and of course three superb erudite speakers with Chris…

It started off such a nice day but the steadily deteriorating weather had me preoccupied with whether or not to continue with the Big Wild Sleepout. As such I was most pleased to get a cryptic message from Max Hellicar about an interesting wader on Purfleet Scrape. A two minute walk and one very nice Pectoral Sandpiper was seen creeping furtively around the edges of the pool with it distinctive breast band and yellowy…

• RSPB Rainham Marshes: Curlew, Whimbrel, 10 Common Tern, 4 Marsh Harrier, 40 Lapwing 9 Black-tailed Godwit, Egyptian Goose, 13 Greylag, 73 Canada Geese, 7 Mute Swan, 10 Gadwall. 6 Mallard, 6 Shoveler, 2 Teal, 4 Pochard, 3 Tufted Duck, 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, 14 Little Grebe, pr Great Crested Grebe, 5 Cormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 13 Little Egret, 4 Moorhen, 78 Coot, 2 Oystercatcher, Green sandpiper…

Hen Harrier Day 2017, Saturday August 5th, 11am – at RSPB Rainham Marshes.

Click here for more details of our gathering... 

What value do you place on a hen harrier ?

The sight of one of these magical birds drifting low over a piece of moorland, or grassland or saltmarsh is surely irreplaceable.

Yet the latest national survey of breeding hen harriers, conducted in 2016, has shown a continuing picture…

Yesterday was a very long day for various reasons but it was the late evening session that made the day with a relaxed Late Night Opening merging seamlessly into a cracking Moth Night with added value Bats and no less than 14 attention seeking female Glowworms. 

The Barn Owls got proceedings off to a great start with three following each other around Aveley Marsh with enough light to enjoy them.

Steve Young..

This year's Thurrock Art Trail is bigger and more inclusive than ever, with over forty venues and sixty artists taking part, including work made by community groups, schools, and professional and amateur artists alike.

Once again RSPB Rainham Marshes is taking part and we have two exhibitors over the duration of the two week event.

Thurrock Art Society was founded in 1970 and the wonderfully eclectic group of artists…

The gloomiest day of the week turned out to be the best on the reserve and my well attended Kids Birdwatching Club had a superb walk around despite the persistent drizzly rain. We saw Oystercatcher and a Yellow Legged Gull on the foreshore and they were all wondrously patient and quiet while we crept up on and watched the Bearded Tit family.

The Marsh Harriers were out patrolling in packs with ten birds seen today including…

• RSPB Rainham Marshes- 2 Sandwich Tern Egyptian Goose, f Common Scoter, 2m1f5juv Marsh Harrier, 2 Buzzard, 4 Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, 7 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Whimbrel, Curlew, 5 Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, 8 Yellow-legged Gull, 5 Common Tern, 18 Stock Dove, Cuckoo, Kestrel, Hobby, 6 Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat…

While Susan Clare had her wonderful exhibition in the Purfleet Hide at the start of June, she also created two superb lapwing paintings using images taken on the reserve by Tom Bell and Tony O’Brien. She painted these in the visitors centre while the people having their lunch and a cup of tea looked on.

Susan has very kindly donated these to the reserve to raise some funds to help with our continued work to conserve…

This Friday you can see the launch of Ring Cycle!

Ring Cycle is an audio visual symphony that transposes Wagner’s epic cast of gods and mortals into a contemporary Thameside landscape. From river maidens on concrete barges to exiled gods and flaming shopping trolleys, this allegory of industrial capitalism takes place just inside London's own ring of the M25.

This film, with live score in collaboration with the…

Only one bird species is attracting any attention at the moment and it is the Bearded Tits with several family parties showing incredibly well down by the Dragonfly Pools where they have been visiting the grit table and performing acrobatics on the dragonfly sculptures, hand rails and metal fences.

Everyone has come back smiling and no wonder given the quality of the images popping up on Facebook and such like!

(David…

So, introduce yourself... Who are you and what did you do before Rainham!

Hi I’m Alistair Wardill, I’m a seasonal Learning Assistant, Wildlife Explorers Leader and Family Events Volunteer and have been working/volunteering at Rainham Marshes for three years now. I’ve worked in mainstream teaching for a very long time, and previously volunteered for a number of environmental charities working with young learners as…

On Saturday 5 August RSPB Rainham Marshes is hosting an event organized by Birders Against Wildlife Crime to mark Hen Harrier Day 2017 – to celebrate Hen Harriers and publicize their plight. We'd like to invite you to join us for this rally, featuring speeches and activities suitable for individuals or families!

We're anticipating a busy day and are urging people to use public transport. Chris Packham…

Hello everyone,

Picture from Hiliary's Twitter

Ring Cycle was filmed on Rainham Marshes, one…

Hello everyone!


You may have seen some of our blogs about Hilary Powell and her stunning artistic Ring Cycle Project...

Artist, Hilary Powell has spent the last year exploring the landscapes and narratives of Purfleet as recipient of the Stephen Cripps' Studio Award. She is preparing to present Ring Cycle - an audio visual symphony that transposes an epic cast of gods and mortals into this contemporary Thameside landscape…

With some fair weather reappearing this week, I have taken the opportunity to escape out onto the reserve for several short walks, mainly with insects in mind although it was nice at last to connect with a Green Sandpiper for the old year list! Normally I get one in January so it was good to finally see that flashing white rump and ‘twit – whit ‘call.

A wonder up over Rainham Ridge revealed the first…

Autumn is underway before even summer has truly got going but the first waders are on their way back from their Arctic breeding grounds with Wood, Green and Common Sandpipers bobbing around the edges, Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwits from Iceland on the foreshore, the first Dunlin and Ruff (still on breeding finery) and a small group of Curlews that may have come from closer to home such as in the Brecklands of Suffolk…

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are well.

Artist, Hilary Powell has spent the last year exploring the landscapes and narratives of Purfleet as recipient of the Stephen Cripps' Studio Award. She is preparing to present Ring Cycle - an audio visual symphony that transposes an epic cast of gods and mortals into this contemporary Thameside landscape. See her guest blog where she spoke about the project here...

Ring…