In the lead up to Canvey Wildlife Day on 25th May, we are organising a free entry photography competition with the theme of ‘Wildlife of Canvey Island’.  The competition is divided into 3 categories, for under 12yrs, 12 - 18yrs and over 18yrs and there are lots of lovely prizes up for grabs. The deadline for the entries is May 18th and judging for the finalists will happen the week of the 20th May, All finalists…

We thought the Winter was never going to end!...However, we are a ‘glass half full’ type of team at the South Essex Marshes and there has been an upside to all the cold wet weather this winter; it has allowed us for the first time to achieve maximum water levels across much of the Marshes. This attracted thousands of overwintering Lapwing and Widgeon to the reserves during this period. Our aim now is to start lowering…

Yesterday marked our first sighting of a Swallow on one of our South Essex Marshes reserves. It was spotted on West Canvey Marsh by one of our volunteers, much to the upset of the others that were with him and managed to miss it!! We've had some frog spawn spotted in our wildlife pond at Wat Tyler Country Park, lots of spring flowers are coming through in our Wildlife Garden and there have been some Blue Tits checking…

Yay, the sun is shining and it's about time!!!

I don't know about anyone else but I've been desperate for the spring to arrive and to use the sunshine as an excuse to escape the confines of my office. The cold wind, rain and grey skies have been getting boring so it's wonderful to feel the warm sun on my face and smell that wonderful smell that only spring has.

So why not join me and Escape the office…

The recent Bittern sightings have continued, with some excellent views from the hide overlooking Pitsea Scrape, including on one of our Thursday guided walks. If you’d like to join one of these walks, come along to the RSPB Visitor Centre in Wat Tyler Country Park, the walks start at 10:30am each Thursday and last for around two hours. They’re free, and are a great way to discover the wealth of wildlife found in the park…

This weekend our Wildlife Explorers took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch from the South Essex Marshes Visitor Centre at Wat Tyler Country Park. They had a fantastic time and spotted a total of 36 birds!!

The list included 2 Blackbirds, 14 Blue Tits, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Great Tit, 1 Greenfinch, 2 House Sparrows, 4 Robins, 2 Jays, 1 Dunnock, 2 Magpies and 1 Pigeon

Robin by David Lee

Throughout the weekend…

It’s been a busy Christmas for birds on the reserves; the wet weather is great news for wintering waders and wildfowl. Across the reserves, there have been over 2000 Lapwing, as well as good numbers of Curlew, all feeding on the wet grasslands. Wildfowl also benefit; as well as the usual Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Mallard, Vange Marsh has attracted nine Bewick’s Swan and two female Goldeneye…

Do you need a new challenge for the New Year? Do you want to learn something new or meet new people. Volunteering with the RSPB could be just the thing.

Is your thing being outdoors, getting muddy and working up a sweat? Then our Thursday Work Party could be just the thing. Each Thursday our Wardens take out a group of volunteers onto our nature reserves to help with the practical conservation that needs to be done to…

This week we said a fond farewell to our Education Officer or more recently our Visitor Services Manager Hannah Chisholm. Hannah has been with us in South Essex since 2010 has made a massive impact to all our work here. She started her journey with us as a Seasonal Education Officer, running the much loved preschool group RSPB Little Owls, looking after visiting schools and running holiday activities and has gone on to…

The RSPB South Essex Visitor Centre will be open every day over Christmas except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.

On Boxing Day and New Years Day we are running Christmas Walks to help burn off those extra calories gained over Christmas lunch. Find out more on our events page http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/southessexmarshes/events.aspx

Come and see the winter wonders with the RSPB at the London Gateway's new Stanford Wharf Nature Reserve. Overlooking the Thames Estuary, and located right next to one of the best sites in the country for wintering birds, visitors to this exciting new reserve will be in for quite a treat. But don't just take our word for it: come and see for yourself on our Wonderful Wader Watch, where our experts will help you…

Short-eared Owls continue to show well over on West Canvey Marshes, often posing nicely for photographs, they must like the attention! Winter waders and wildfowl are on the up, with around a thousand Lapwing, 50 Curlew, 50 Black-tailed Godwit, 300 Wigeon and 150 Teal across our reserves.

Pitsea Scrape is also attracting lots of birds with over 40 Snipe feeding in the mud, also look out for Water Rail dashing across the…

This weekend our local RSPB Wildlife Explorer group, the Wat Tyler Woodpeckers, have been out and about enjoying the wet weather. Nothing puts this lot off and the rain became a great excuse for some puddle jumping. In fact the Woodpeckers were learning about Wat Tyler Country Park and all about it’s explosive history. The puddles really helped demonstrate how an explosion happens and the effects they have. Later on they…

As the weather gets colder it becomes even more important to help our birds and put out food in your garden. At our Wildlife Garden in Wat Tyler Country Park, our feeders have been bustling with birds, with great views of many garden species including Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker. We’ve even had a Tree Sparrow and Bullfinch drop in for a brief visit, so why not pop down to our Visitor Centre and see what’s about.…

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/10032861.Short_eared_owls_return_to_West_Canvey_Marsh_for_second_year/

Photo by Russell Sherriff

BIRD lovers are in for a hoot-iful sight as a “wonderful” owl has made Canvey its home for the winter.

Short-eared owls have been spotted at the RSPB West Canvey Marsh for the second year in a row and it looks like they are set to stay for the winter months.

Unlike…

The RSPB is making waves in South Essex … by allowing the waters of the Thames to flood an area of farmland, thus creating a brand new nature reserve. And being located right next to one of the best sites in the country for wintering birds, visitors to this exciting new reserve will be in for quite a treat. But don’t just take our word for it: come and see for yourself on our Muddy Marvellous Walk. The Stanford…

The Friends of Wat Tyler Wildlife Garden are hosting a plant sale to encourage more people to make their gardens wildlife friendly and to raise money for future projects in the garden. The plant sale will take place on Sunday 4^th November from 10am-4pm at the RSPB Visitor Centre in Wat Tyler Country Park.

The South Essex Wildlife garden is now a space where people and wildlife can flourish. It is managed by volunteers…

With our project officially launched by the Secretary of State Owen Paterson, with the ensuing media coverage and razzmatazz , life on Wallasea Island now settles into its natural rhythm once more. The public footpath will remain open along our northern seawall, allowing visitors to take a look at the construction process taking place, but also to experience the vast open space and natural beauty of the marshlands.

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As the temperature starts to drop, its time to start looking for winter visitors out on our reserves. Winter thrushes are often one of the first signs that the nights are going to start drawing in, Fieldfares and Redwings will start to pile in over the next few weeks, also keep a look out for late migrants such as Ring Ouzel. Other birds to look out for include Siskin, Redpolls and Brambling, who may all be hiding amongst…

There is so much going on over the October half term holidays to get families out and about in nature. This is such a wonderful time to explore with the leaves turning golden and with birds visiting feeders and offering beautiful close up views.

At the RSPB Visitor Centre in Wat Tyler Park we will be running nature themed Halloween craft activities all week. Come along to make a bat mask, a spider coaster, or to complete…

On 27 September the RSPB’s Wildlife Garden at Flatford was awarded first place in the Recreation category at the annual Biffa Building Communities Awards. The ceremony took place at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard in Kent, and was attended by representatives from 25 shortlisted projects.

Shirley Boyle, Project Officer for the garden said “We’re delighted that the garden has received such recognition. It’s a great…

To most people the term ‘wildlife spectacle’ likely brings to mind images of Starlings flocking together in their hundreds of thousands, wheeling en masse across a winter sky; migrating salmon leaping from the torrent as they make the seemingly impossble journey to the river of their birth; or feisty March hares charging around arable fields, jumping, kicking and squaring up to each other for a bout of fisticuffs. But…

A female/immature Redstart was found yesterday along the hedgerow of the field just west of the main Wat Tyler car park. At least two Willow Warblers still in the RSPB wildlife garden along with a number of Chiffchaffs and Whitethroat.

On West Canvey Marsh 2 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Kestrel, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Greenshank, 21 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Yellow Wagtail and a Wheatear. While on Vange Mar…

Highlight of the last few days has been up to five Garganey on Pitsea Scrape. These small attractive ducks can be difficult to see as they like to hide amongst the reeds, but they do come out from time to time so keep your eyes peeled! Vange Marsh is still attracting excellent numbers of waders with peaks of over 200 Black-tailed Godwit. There are also regularly double figures of Redshank, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank…

You can find them right across South Essex Marshes. They look like tiny orange moths fluttering in and out of the grass but they are in fact energetic and fiercely territorial butterflies with attitude.  Hopefully this little guide will help you out!

Thanks to Howard Vaughan for this excellent image.