Moth Night
The evening of Friday 22 July was our late night opening which swiftly merged into moth night. We had three MV traps running between 21:30-23:30, including my own trap, which produced some fairly good species. It was nice to see such a good turnout of people throughout the evening.
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| Jersey Tiger |
Surprisingly no hawkmoths were caught, but my highlight of the evening wasn't a moth - it was a beetle! Two beetles actually (both of which were attracted to my MV bulb), and a species which I have wanted to see for a while - Nicrophorus vespillo, a stunning creature patterned with black and orange.
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| Nicrophorus vespillo |
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| Glow-worm |
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| Wasp Spider |
Wader passage at Rainham has started to slowly increase in recent weeks with Whimbrels, Black-tailed Godwits (up to 24 reported on 25 July), Green Sandpiper (first of the season was reported in mid-June) and Snipe (first of the season on 25 July) now being a regular appearance on our scrapes.
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| Snipe |
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| Green Sandpiper and Snipe |
Yellow-legged Gulls can also be seen from the visitor centre at the moment, but are annoyingly distant on the other side of the Thames.
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| Common Lizard |
On Tuesday morning (26 July) it was discovered that we have Pantaloon Bees (Dasypoda hirtipes) at Rainham Marshes. The Pantaloon Bee is a species with a scattered national distribution, being more prevalent in the south-east of England.
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| Pantaloon Bees (Dasypoda hirtipes) |
Just a reminder that Hen Harrier Day 2016 London and South East will be held at RSPB Rainham Marshes on 06 August, it will be good to see as many of you there as possible.
Happy birding,
Max.
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