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There is a lot of activity at Elmley Marshes at the moment. The drive down to the car park is fantastic with close views of displaying Lapwing and Redshanks wandering closely along the track. I can confidently say you are very likely to see at least one stunning Yellow Wagtail and if you are sharp eyed...

This predictions business isn't easy you know. A couple of posts ago, I suggested that a couple of nice June surprises for the reserve might involve a roller or a squacco heron. Imagine my frustration when first a roller appeared on Monday. In Suffolk. And then today came the news that there was...

Well, the promised sunshine finally arrived today. And what a difference! Splendidly sunny (although still with a cool northerly breeze), it's really starting to feel more like spring. One of the sure signs was evident this afternoon, when a distinctive squealing call revealed a male marsh harrier...

Decided that I needed a haircut today, so as my hairdresser is in Medway, it seemed rude not to call in at the Medway reserves at Motney Hill on the way back. Pulling my hat tightly down to keep a keen north-easterly breeze from getting to my newly exposed ears, I realised that i had timed my visit just...

In direct contrast to yesterdays gloom, today was another glorious day on the reserve and it was enjoyed by probably more people than got out on Sunday - probably not unsurprisingly. And no-one who visited in todays sunshine can have failed to be impressed by the number of birds out on the Flood. Still...

You never can tell. Down to the reserve mid-morning to do various pump-related jobs and I paused on the counterwall at Wellmarsh and scanned the Flood. It wasn't an especially high tide today, but the pool in front of the hide was covered in waders. So I detoured briefly to get a count. Half an hour...

Of course, it was more or less inevitable... Having led y/days guided walk in dull, windy conditions and searched in vain for a peregrine sighting, today was nice & sunny, still a bit windy, though not too bad and the first bird I saw as I passed the orchard on my way down to the reserve today...

With Nat doing the honours with the livestock today, I took myself off Sheppey (first time since 27th Nov!) to have a look on the Medway estuary. Specifically at Motney Hill RSPB reserve. This often overlooked reserve is situated on the south side of the estuary, near Riverside Country Park by Gillingham...

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 It was still quite snowy on the reserve when I arrived this morning. There’s been a big thaw over the weekend, thanks to a splash of rain as much as the arctic temperatures lifting...

Since my last posting, there's been more snow here, meaning that I've had to close the reserve due to the hazardous condition of the access track. Today, there was no more snow and I was able to drive the track in the reserve 4x4 with care, but I still would recommend that people do not visit...

We were fog-bound yesterday, so my wander around the reserve to check the livestock didn't reveal very much. The poor visibility was compounded by the fact that the water bodies had frozen, meaning that most of the waterfowl have abandoned the reserve for the Swale. I did see at least 500 wigeon...

At least 32 spotted redshank on the Flood today, as well as a common sandpiper, 2 green sandpiper and plenty of black-tailed godwits. There was a very unseasonal brent goose; and a couple of broods of well grown shoveler ducklings were lurking in the vegetation at Wellmarsh hide, with a superb glistening...