All the hard work by our reserves team is paying dividends. Recent sightings at Vange Marsh have included up to six spotted redshanks, 19 green sandpipers and four common sandpipers. The moulting male ruff is still present and has just a few straggly feathers of his white ruff left, over 40 black-tailed godwits can be found on the fresh marsh along with up to seven oystercatchers, redshanks and one or two greenshanks. Five little ringed plovers have been frequenting the saline lagoon with two meditteranean gulls amongst the mixed gull flocks on the freshmarsh.
Two grasshopper warblers continue to 'reel', one on the former county tip, can be heard from the viewing screen while the other is close to the new wooden bridge on the reserve. Three cetti's warblers can be heard singing, while hobbies can be seen hunting overhead. Water voles are showing well in the moat around the freshmarsh.
Butterflies are now out in force, with good numbers of both essex and small skippers present in good numbers along with meadow browns, ringlet and marbled whites.
If you would like to find out more about the marshes, come along to 'The History Of The Marshes Talk' this Saturday afternoon, details below.
Saturday 10th July: A History of the Marshes talk at Wat Tyler Country Park, 2pm.An outline of the area’s history from the Norman Conquest to the 19th century. Professor Stephen Rippon, University of Exeter, will show how the landscape has changed dramatically. Cost £3 per person. Booking essential, call 01268 498627