An hour at Rainham

After dropping my grandson to school in Hornchurch this morning I popped into Rainham for an hour.

A Lesser Whitethroat was calling in the hawthorns as I exited the visitor centre and popped up for a second to allow an image to be captured.

Lesser Whitethroat

As I walked the path towards the discovery centre I could hear lot's of Marsh frogs calling and stopped to get a picture of one. Sedge and Reed Warblers were noisy along with the off Whitethroat. Two Cuckoos flew west and several Bearded Tits pinged as I got near the target pool. Marsh Harriers hunted across the reserve along with Buzzard and Kestrel but no Hobbies were seen.

Marsh Frog

Sedge Warbler

I entered the hide where the Kingfishers are nesting in the man made sandbank just outside the hide, the open area of discovery hide is closed to avoid disturbing the birds and the windows have been covered with camo too. In an hour in the hide the Kingfishers came out of the nest twice and briefly sat on the provided perch allowing me to capture several images despite shooting through the glass and in overcast conditions. A Little Grebe has a single chick left and was busy feeding it the whole time I was there.

A lovely quick visit which I'll try to repeat at the next opportunity.

year list still 218