• Wildlife Highlights - 12 September 2021

    Guest blog by Pat, one of our volunteers. He's written up all of the wildlife that he saw today!
    RSPB Rainham Marshes - Sunday 12th September
    Highlights:- Pintail, Water Rail, 40 Avocet, Lapwing, 2 Curlew, 100+ Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Ruff, 3 Snipe, Yellow-legged Gull, Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, 2 Great White Egret, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrel, 2 Hobby, Peregrine, 5 Bearded Tit, Sand Martin, Swallow, Cetti…
  • Wildlife - Friday 10th September 2021

    Rainham Marshes volunteer Pat has written up all the wildlife he saw yesterday! 
    RSPB Rainham Marshes - Friday 10th September
    Highlights:- Water Rail, 30 Avocet, Lapwing, 1 Curlew, 100+ Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff, 7 Snipe, Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Cattle Egret, 2 Great White Egret, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel, 3 Hobby, 1 Peregrine, 4 Bearded Tit, 9 Swallow, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Blackcap…
  • Want to bring you school to Rainham - free coaches!

    Urgent help needed to spend some money!

    Do you know a teacher/school who would like to bring their class on a school trip to Rainham but can't afford the coach prices? The Land of the Fanns School Travel Fund needs to be claimed before next March so please share with anyone you know who is involved in education! https://www.landofthefanns.org/school-travel-fund/ 

    #SchoolTripsareBack

  • Wildlife Highlights - Friday 3 September 2021

    RSPB Rainham Marshes - Friday 3 September 2021 from volunteer Pat!
    Highlights:- 3 Egyptian Goose, 6 Swift, 21 Avocet, Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, 1 Curlew, 122 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff, 4 Dunlin, 11 Snipe, Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Common Tern, 1 Spoonbill, 1 Cattle Egret, 2 Great White Egret, Honey-Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel, 3 Hobby, 6 Bearded Tit, 4 Sand Martin, Cetti's Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff…
  • Cattle egrets - showing nicely.

    Hi everyone,

    Cattle and little egrets have been showing quite nicely over the last few days, so I thought it was a good time to post some details about the two so you can tell them apart!

    Cattle egret are slightly smaller but much rarer than the little egret, cattle egrets are visiting the UK in increasing numbers (although wintering numbers are only about 100 in the UK). They often spend time close to livestock and…

  • The magic of migration

    On the 11th August Russ Sherriff saw and photographed a juvenile Wheatear on the reserve.
    It was ringed with a metal BTO ring (AFL2953) & a red colour (CRI) one too which proves it was caught Calf of Man Bird Observatory just 16 days earlier on the 26th July. That's 443km in 16 days! A brief stop on the way south to Africa and it is just a few weeks old!
  • Some warm insect days around the Centre

    With the odd spell of actually pleasant weather there was the opportunity to find some more inverts around Reception at work and trying to educate the visiting public about just how amazing leaving a patch of grass to run wild in the garden can be.

    The ‘left patches’ around the play area have several Wasp Spiders nestled away in their little open pockets in the sward.  People always seem amazing that the spider…

  • The last few days... 3rd-6th August 2021

    Just a quick sightings post!

    A Great White Egret was knocking about the marsh up until Wednesday and there has been a slow trickle of waders starting to move through.  The Target pool and Purfleet Scrape still have water which is great and hopefully we shall have a good autumn to come.

    Great White Egret - John Humble

    and the highlights from yesterday...

    Friday 6th August 2021
    • RSPB Rainham Marshes:- 3 Avocet, 43 Lapwing…
  • Summer Holidays at Rainham Marshes (August 2021)

    This summer your adventure starts with us - explore the reserve and have a fabulous family adventure.

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      Wild in the Woods - picture by Louise Moss

    What's on this summer? We have a Wild in the Woods - a Forest School inspired event for 18 month olds - 8 years!

    Forest School inspired activity aims to inspire children through nature, building their confidence and self esteem and encouraging individual growth.

  • Hen Harrier Day 2021 is today - online

    #HenHarrierDay is today, and will be streaming live from 10am on Youtube with hosts @urbanbirder & @laurenSJcook. The full programme can be found at http://henharrierday.uk/hhdo-2021

  • Plastic Pollution - Beach Clean at RSPB Rainham Marshes

    In conjunction with World Nature Day we will be running another plastic clean up.

    If you are free on Wednesday 28 July, 10 am-1 pm - we need help with a litter pick!


    Picture by Howard Vaughan.

    We need your help.


    Join us on Wednesday 28 July - meet other nice people and get your lungs pumped up with fresh air and enjoy the beauty of this particular river urban landscape. We will be litter picking along the foreshore of…

  • Get Ready for the Big Wild Summer at Rainham Marshes - family fun over the holidays

    Your adventure starts here!

    This summer your adventure starts with us - explore the reserve and have a fabulous family adventure.

    Explore the reserve with our nature by numbers trail - can you solve the clues and be a wild explorer? Activity packs will help you explore the reserve - these include a nature book, trail sheet, pencil and certificate so you are all ready for your adventure. Activity packs cost £3.50 (card…

  • Reserve Opening and Facilities update - from Tuesday 20 July 2021 (and recent sightings)

    As restrictions ease further in England, we’re excited to continue to have many of our facilities OPEN for your visit!

    Here’s a summary of what’s available from Tuesday 20 July 2021:

    • The reserve will be open Tuesday-Sunday, 9.30 am-5 pm
    • Car park
    • Outdoor, staffed Welcome Point
    • Nature reserve trails - you can explore our circular walk (the one way system will be removed - you can now go either way round…
  • Hen Harrier Day Online - 1 August 2021

    This years Hen Harrier Day will be online.

    Hen Harrier Action is proud to announce their latest event -  Hen Harrier Day Online will be on Sunday 1 August. The event will be hosted by David Lindo, the Urban Birder, and Lauren Cook, who won our Early Career Naturalist Challenge in 2020. Starting at 10 am, it will have a great mix of video, stories of rewilding and restoring nature to the uplands, competition results and…

  • Insects on the job - 9th July

    Today the sun actually shone and at times there was even some heat to be appreciated.  As such reception duty today brought with it some insect opportunities and by the close of play we had seen the following Butterflies: - Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small White, Green veined White, Large White, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Copper, Holly Blue, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper and Small Copper. 

  • The Last Few Days - 29th June - 4th July 2021

    It was another week of big white flappy things out on the marsh and We were graced once again by the presence of a White Stork.  It was first seen in flight on Wednesday but has since then been wandering around on Wenning marsh munching of frogs and anything else vaguely edible.

    This one appears to be unrung but in theory could still be a Knepp project bird. Whereever it comes from it is still a delight to see such an…

  • All of our hides are now open!

    Afternoon!

    Just a quick post for today - we are pleased to announce all four of our hides are now open!

    We have had two of the hides open for a while, but as of today all are open for you to enjoy.
    Please wear a mask when using the hides.
    A wooden birdwatching hide can be seen at the end of a boardwalk, surrounded by reeds rustling in the breeze. The sky is blue and fluffy white clods are passing over head.
    Purfleet Hide by Jodi Randall (rspb-images.com)
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    Today we have had lovely views of spoonbill, bearded tit, avocet, marsh harrier, great crested gre…
  • Spoonbill - Saturday 19 June

    Hi everyone,

    Just a quick blog to let you know that we had lovely views of a spoonbill yesterday (Saturday 19 June)!

     It was in the middle of Aveley Marsh (the bit you can see from the Purfleet hide) yesterday!

    A spoonbill, a tall white bird, is wading though the water. It's long dark legs can be seen as it wades gently through the water, and it's all white body is facing the camera so you can see it's extremely long spoon shaped bill clearly

    Spoonbill by Howard Vaughan - taken at Rainham, but this photo was taken earlier this year

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    Spoonbills are tall white waterbirds with long spatulate black bills and long black legs.

    Their wingspan is abo…

  • Pat's wildlife highlights (Friday 18 June)

    One of our fabulous volunteers Pat had a nice walk around the reserve on Friday and wanted to share his sightings:

    Hello everyone,

    My highlights from Friday were:- swift, cuckoo, oystercatcher, avocet, lapwing, redshank, sparrowhawk, marsh harrier, bearded tit, sand martin, swallow, house martin, cetti's warbler, chiffchaff, sedge warbler, reed warbler, blackcap, and whitethroat.

    The swifts whirling overhead are…

  • Quick reminder - shop and cafe opening at noon today!

    Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

    We’ll be opening the shop and cafe at the later time of 12 noon today, Thursday 17 June, due to team training. ️We apologise for any inconvenience.

    The nature reserve and toilets can still be accessed as normal from 9.30 am

  • Thursday 17 June - cafe and shop opening later

    We’ll be opening the shop and cafe at the later time of 12 noon on Thursday 17 June, due to team training. ️We apologise for any inconvenience.

    The nature reserve and toilets can still be accessed as normal from 9.30 am

    Thank you!

  • A mindful morning... 13th June 2021

    I got into work a little early today and took myself out onto the Southern Trail for a short walk before things warmed up too much.  My hayfever was already bad so I stopped to rest my eyes for a while and decided to take the opportunity to open my senses to what I could experience around me.

    Being on the borders of a marsh always gives you the best chance of a wide selection of wildlife but could I identify more than…

  • Love talking to people and sharing your passion for Rainham Marshes? Want to work here?

    If you love talking to people and sharing your passion about nature, this may be the role for you. We are looking for a  six month, part time, Centre Assistant role here at Rainham Marshes.


    Part of the Thames Estuary, not far from the bustling streets of London, Rainham Marshes is a haven for all kinds of wildlife - birds, water voles, dragonflies and more. We have a wonderful visitor centre with cafe, shop toilets, bike…

  • Plastic Pollution - Beach Clean at RSPB Rainham Marshes

    If you are free on Sunday 27 June, 10 am-1 pm - we need help with a litter pick!


    With the exceptionally high tides recently a huge amount of rubbish has washed up on the foreshore of the Thames on the River Wall section of the reserve.

    Picture by Howard Vaughan.

    We need your help.


    Join us on Sunday 27 June - meet other nice people and get your lungs pumped up with fresh air and enjoy the beauty of this particular river…

  • How things are working at the moment - a reserve facilities update - 1st June 2021

    Morning all – just an update on where we are with access to the reserve and such like at the moment...

    • The reserve is open from 9.30am to 5pm Tuesday through to Sunday. We are currently still closed on Mondays – and don’t forget we lock the car park gates at 5pm too!
    • The shop is open for business as usual for all your bird food, bird care, gift and books but only selling binoculars and telescopes is…