Browse by Tags

Many may have noticed this year that we have had no trouble raising our water levels. Plenty of rain has meant that the reserve is possibly looking the wettest that most can remember. This is fantastic as it has created a great habitat for the winter bird’s arrival. It also makes our days much...

It is getting to the time of year where we start seeing the marsh looking like everyone supposes a marsh should look like.....very wet. With all the rain we have had over the last couple of weeks it is not surprising that the water levels have risen and all the rills and scrapes have filled up. This...

Compared to some of the glorious winter weather we've experienced recently, today wasn't too inspirational, but the team took the opportunity to get out "in the field" anyway. A quick check first of the Elmley livestock: all the cattle have now gone until the spring, with only the sheep...

The weather over the past few days has, by & large, been fantastic! Gloriously sunny days, light (or even no) winds, crisp & clear. On Saturday afternoon, the visibility was so good that, looking through my 'scope from Kingshill Farm, I could pretty much count how many people (12 - 15 I thought...

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...

Well, there's no denying that we could use a bit of rain, but what a dismal day! The steady rain set in pretty much from the off and then didn't relent all day. Naturally, our cattle grazier had decided to come up today to take off the first lot of cows that will be calving in the next month...

A slightly belated new year's greeting from Elmley. I have been back at the reserve since the 30th, but haven't found the time to update what's been going on here. So here's a quick summary. Natalie found an Egyptian goose by the access track on Boxing Day and up to 4 have been present...

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...

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...

Yesterday gave us the first real blast of winter at Elmley. No snow, unlike other parts of the country, but leaden skies and a biting northerly wind were a taster for what's to come over the next week or so. Despite the cold, the livestock are still doing a good job maintaining the sward out on the...

Hello and welcome to the Elmley Marshes RSPB Reserve blog. This is a new concept for Elmley, and I will endeavour to make my posts interesting, informative and entertaining. We want you to be able to find out what’s been going on, what’s been seen and what we’ve been up to, at the click...