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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...

With 60mm of rain falling in just 4 days last week you can imagine that the marsh is looking extremely soggy right now! I have really noticed the wildfowl numbers starting to increase. A passing Marsh Harrier sent hundreds of Teal up into the air today from off the reservoir. It was an amazing sight...

You might notice that the pools on the flood are looking quite low...don’t panic, this is only for a short time as staff and volunteers are undertaking the enjoyable task of walking out to the islands, getting stuck in the mud (and sometimes falling into it) to complete the annual management of...

Anticipation is mounting for the impending arrival of a benevolent elf from Lapland. But as far as I'm concerned, he's been beaten to the UK by a number of his fellow compatriots! RSPB are now managing a number of fields on the Harty Marshes at the east end of the Isle of Sheppey. We have acquired...

The RSPB IS people have apparently solved my continuing website problems, although it's now dependent on the mobile phone company to action the change. Something they're being frustratingly slow to address. So anyway, back at Northward Hill office, so access to the website has allowed an up...

Time for another of my rather infrequent updates, as I STILL can't access the RSPB website from Elmley. We're still trying to fix the problem, but it's a slow process. Highlight of the month so far was the discovery of a grey phalarope on the Flood reservoir on Saturday night. It was still...

Hello All, We had a good march around the reserve on Saturday. First is a record shot of a colour-ringed Spoonbill as mentioned in Gordon's blog Grey Heron Sky Lark Meadow Pipit Green Sandpiper Ruff Reed Warbler Peregrine And finally...

Another 2 weeks has passed & still no joy in getting onto the RSPB website at Elmley - a real conundrum. I have been sent another possible fix that I will try when I return to Kingshill Farm, but I'm currently at Northward Hill, hence the chance for a further up-date about what's hip &...

Hello All, Below are some photos from Elmley last week. Two immature Spoonbill dropped in very briefly Common Sandpiper Green Sandpiper Ruff Avocet Chick Hobby with unfortunate victim. Kestrel Greylag Family And finally...

I thought that we'd got rid of it, but once again certain bits of the reserve are experiencing a "bloom" of blue-green algae. It's not actually an alga at all, as it's "proper" name is cyanobacteria. These are photosynthesising bacteria, that can affect water quality when...

Ah. What other blog takes it's title from obscure Deep Purple tracks...? Every so often someone comes along and beats me to a good bird at Elmley. When I went out last night to switch off the generator, I noticed that someone had written "LEO in the orchard" on the additional sightings...