The reserves have been pulling in some good birds recently; a female summer plumage red-necked phalarope stayed a morning on Vange Marsh, and a male white-spotted bluethroat was seen briefly from the hide overlooking Pitsea Scrape.

Red-necked Phalarope by Chris Gormesall (rspb-images.com)

Other highlights across the reserves include both a little gull and a yellow-legged gull which have been seen regularly on Vange Marsh.

As the sun comes out and the temperatures warm up, West Canvey Marsh is a great place to come and see invertebrates. The grasslands are being filled with young grasshoppers and crickets, and bees and butterflies are busy visiting flowers. We’ve recently cut a trail through one of our meadows just beyond the playground, some of the butterfly species already seen include ringlet, meadow brown, small heath, common blue and recently a clouded yellow was reported.

Clouded Yellow by Ted Cook

We’ve also recently put out some water vole feeding platforms in some of the ditches near the playground and dog-walking loop. The voles have already started using them, and there have been lots of sightings nearby, so keep a look out for them!