2 MAY 2026 – RAINHAM MARSH, RSPB NATURE
RESERVE
It
was just John and me today as Mike was on family duties. When John arrived to
pick me up at 0730 hrs, we hadn’t sorted out a venue, but there were a few
possibilities: Languard Point, Suffolk (for a Tawny Pipit); Abberton
Reservoir, Essex (general birdwatching); and Rainham Marshes for Black-winged
Stilts; Wood Sandpipers and Ring Ouzel. We chose the latter, arriving at the
reserve around 8.15 a.m.
The
reserve wasn’t due to open until 0930 hrs, so John suggested we take the river
path along the Thames to where the Ring Ouzel had been seen the day before.
When we arrived at the said location, the County Recorder for Essex (his name
escapes me) had just seen the bird at the base of a hawthorn, although it
wasn’t on show; but within minutes a Blackbird sized bird - dark brown; silvery
mantle, and a somewhat indistinct georgette on its breast - flew out and away,
crossing the pathway and disappeared into bushes below us. Yet within minutes
it had returned to the original bush, where we got much better views of the
bird, despite being quite deep within it. Yet very soon it was disturbed, and
flew out once again, when we got much better views of its distinctive features
as this time it flew much further away. But at least we’d ‘bagged’ it for the
day and were very pleased considering that Ring Ouzels (spring and autumn
migrants here) were almost always extremely elusive.
Scoping
the reserve pools John eventually found the Black-winged Stilts on the far side
of the reserve, so he suggested making our way to the visitor centre, then try
and see if could get closer views. It proved a long drag around the reserve
pathways to where we found we could view the stilts from the track, yet even so
they remained distant, with heat haze beginning to interfere to some extent.
There were a single Wood Sandpiper and a Ruff at the same location. Above this
point, at least two Hobbys were hunting
high up in the skies, with at least three Common Terns flying over the
reedbeds. Two Western Marsh Harriers were seen here too, with the song of a
male Cuckoo echoing over the marsh.
Rather than walk round the entire reserve, as we’d seen our target birds, John suggested we turn back and try and find out own Green Hairstreak butterflies, which were apparently common on the reserve at this time of year. It seems that a favoured location for the species was known as the Cordite store - which was sheltered from any wind and was also an ideal sunspot. We didn’t have long to wait, when the said Hairstreak (all males - well several in fact) made a welcome appearance, with some very good views as the insects occasionally alighted on leaves of bushes (mainly Elderberry). We also saw at least two male Small Coppers and several Peacock butterflies. And the Cuckoo we’d heard earlier, gave good views as it flew between the trees. There were also several teneral Large Red Damselflies and an adult Azure Damselfly, as well as three species of Shield Bug (although I didn't find that out until I'd examined the photos later that day) in this relatively small open area. Earlier in the day we’d also seen a few Wall Brown butterflies and at least two Hairy Dragonflies.
On the way back to the car park, we attempted to gain more views of the Black-winged Stilts, but the birds remained stubbornly distant - though from all viewpoints, the scratchy songs of Reed and Sedge Warblers pervaded, along with the deafening rattling croaking of Marsh Frogs.
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