A find at Elmley 19th May

The sun was shining so we decided to visit Elmley today. On arrival, we stopped to watch a young Egret stalking some fish. The Egret slowly walked upstream making hardly a ripple as he patiently waited, but today he was not in luck and we did not see the Egret catch anything

A slight movement in the grass caught our eye. It was a rabbit creeping along quietly so as not to attract any attention. There are several birds of prey living at Elmley so these rabbits have to be very careful to stay hidden otherwise they will become a raptors dinner.

A bit further into the reserve and we came across a small herd of cows. This Mother was giving her young calf a nice good morning kiss, and the calf was just loving all the fuss and attention she was getting

Watching enviously from the grass was another young calf, but she seemed far too content to enjoy a good laze rather than get up and join in the fun.

There are still plenty of Lapwings at Elmley and they are so tame. They will let you drive right up to them to take their pictures before flying off with a loud peee weeep to perform their famous aerial acrobatics

We stopped up by the farmhouses and in the small enclosure watched a female blackbird digging in the grass for some nice grubs. Slowly she walked back and forth digging away until with a whistle of delight she pulled up a good beak full.

We were not the only ones watching the blackbird. As I finished taking her shot I noticed that a young sparrow looking as well. Maybe he was learning some new tricks from an old hand

There is a public walkway that runs alongside the houses that we have not been across before, so today we walked down to see what we could find. As we passed the houses, it was nice to see that the occupants also like to look after our feathered friends

As we made our way along the walkway, we noticed a pretty little blue butterfly flitting amongst the tall grass. It took many attempts but we managed to get a picture of it to show you

After a few minutes walking we came across an old derelict schoolhouse. A subsequent conversation with the Farm manager of Elmley reveals that this school dates from the late 1800’s and was the school for the 200 plus villagers that lived on the Marshes. The School was shut down around the beginning of the 19th century

In this shot you can see the shape of the school windows. At the apex of the roof you an also see the remains of the school bell enclosure. Apparently it was a very handsome school when in use and is built on the grounds where an old church once stood

Unfortunately there is no evidence of the church anymore except for a single battered gravestone propped against a tree, the wording long weathered away.

As Mick is a carpenter, he took lots of pictures of the building and gave me a running commentary on the workmanship involved.

I also took lots of pictures of the building as it was a fascinating place to visit. We hope to find out more information on the School and church and would be grateful for any you may have.

To finish of today’s tale, we would like to leave you a few more shots of this old schoolhouse.

More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A few weeks of sunshine 22nd April

What a superb few weeks we have had since we last wrote. Spring is certainly here with us, and nature is now in full bloom. We have been visiting a few of our favourite locations over the past weeks and have lots of pictures to show you. The walks at Northward hill take you past a nicely maintained cherry Orchard that is now in full blossom, what a superb sight it makes.

Also enjoying the blossom was this Bumble Bee, buzzing happily away to himself as he collected all of the goodness from the flower to take back home.

And it was not only the Bees that were enjoying the blossom flowers. The butterflies were out in force, flitting from flower to flower and dancing playful aerial duets with their partners

Down at Elmley we found this little Ringed Plover sitting on her nest that was just inches from the roadway, and she did not seem in the least concerned when we stopped for a few minutes to admire her nest. Can you see how she is only half sitting on her eggs to keep the temperature just right.

Out in the river, a female Coot was also sitting on her nest. The nicely woven collection of reeds keeping her nest high and dry from the water but safe from any unwanted visitors.

The frogs were also out making extremely loud burbling noises to attract the females. They were mainly all hidden in the reeds but one obligingly swam out into the middle of the stream and posed for us with a big beaming smile

Across the river a quick movement caught our eye. It was a Hare stopping for a quick drink before hopping of back out of sight. Hares are a declining species in the UK so it was nice to see some of them out enjoying the sunshine

As we have not had rain for a while it was quite dusty on the reserves. I was trying to make out what the loud whistling noise was that I could hear and it turned out to be Mick, blowing the dust off from his lens!

Later on the walk, I spotted a pair of large birds coming our way, I quickly pointed them out to Mick and we got ready as they flew closer to us

And it was a pair of magnificent Mute swans, flapping serenely across the reserve. What an absolute superb sight they made as they flew past us to continue on their journey.

We would like to finish of today’s tale with a view from the top of the Northward hill walk, looking down at the farms surrounded by the fields of Rape. It will be a few more weeks before the Rape is ready to be harvested yet, but already it has started to get that gorgeous yellow glow to it.

We hope that you enjoyed todays tale. More pictures can be found in our galleries at
www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

It's still Chilly but Nice at Elmley 31st march

Although it was nice and sunny, a strong chill wind was blowing at Elmley this weekend, so we wrapped up warm and set of for a pleasant mornings outing. As we drove through the marshes, we spotted a pretty Plover searching for insects. It was nice to see one of these about as we have not seen any for ages.

Nearby a Lapwing was also searching for food. This one was a bit more successful and happily showed off to us his prize catch before swiftly gobbling it up when the Plover wandered over to see what he had caught

Although chilly it was a lovely day and a nearby Mute Swan smiled back at us as he swam off to enjoy a slow lazy swim in the sunshine

You can see that spring is now with us, as the coots are busily making their large nests in the river. This one is now complete, and the female Coot was just checking it out for size whilst having a crafty nap before her partner came back

We saw some Redshanks here again today with quite a few Males running along the riverbanks, stopping every now and then to do a nice display of head bobbing to attract a mate.

A Loud honking overhead turned out to be a small flock of Mullard Ducks practising their synchronised flying. The honking was from the lead instructor giving the rear learner shouts of encouragement. As you can see, the learner has not quite got it right yet.

We stopped at the main car park and walked down between the bushes to see what small birds were about. Mick could hear a finch singing and walked back and forth trying to isolate it from the branches without any luck



I was more successful when I went after a little Robin. This Robin lives in the garden by the main RSPB office and normally pops over to say hello when we visit Elmley



Instead Mick checked out some of the smaller flying creatures and took this lovely shot of a busy bee sniffing out the nectar in some of the early spring flowers

Mick also wanted to try and take a shot of the Owls that can just be seen in the trees at the back of the toilet block, but I was too cold and sat in the car for a quick warm up, it was so nice and snug that I too had a crafty kip.

The Owls were a long way off and the day was very hazy but Mick managed to take this picture of one of them sitting near the Owl house that they live in. Can you see him sitting on a small branch on the right of the tree? As with all the photo's on this blog, if you click on it you will get a larger picture to see.

We hope that you enjoyed reading about our day out. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www voinapics.co.uk


Steve & Mick

A chilly day at Oare and Elmley

We have been informed that snow may be on the way over shortly, and this weekend was certainly a bit chillier. So we wrapped up warm and set of for Oare Marshes. On arrival we met a pair of magnificent Mute swans that were still finishing their breakfast.

Breakfast over, the pair settled down for a good wash preening that culminated in a vigorous wing flapping session to blow out all those loose feathers. What powerful wings these Swans have.

Shortly after, a young Moorhen wandered over to say hello. Moorhens are notoriously shy birds so we were very pleased to see him. We managed to take a few pictures before he disappeared in the reeds.

As it was very quiet here today, we decided to move on to Elmley, but before we went, we walked over to the small inlet where we photographed some coots last week. And sure enough, they were both there. These Coots are very friendly, and swam over to us in greeting.

Mick was also keen on taking another picture of those elusive Stonechats. He settled down and waited until he started to get cramp, but alas, the Stonechats just kept themselves teasingly out of reach of his camera

We arrived at the entrance to Elmley and a Magpie caught my eye. Although a common bird, we have not managed to take any good picture of them so I was keen to get one. But these Magpies were too quick for me so I laughingly admitted defeat

We started our drive through the marshes and a loud commotion caught our attention. It was a pair of male Mallards vying for the attention of a female, who waddled up and down with head held high obviously enjoying all the attention.

Further on we spotted a Redshank hunting for titbits along the bank of one of the streams. He stopped to give us his best profile for a photograph

There were more Lapwings here today then the last visit which is a good sign. Lapwings must be one of the most laid back birds going. They are not fazed at all by the sounds of the car and will let you get very close.

Just before we reached the RSPB car park we spotted a little Skylark a long way off. He landed on a little grassy knoll just long enough for us to squeeze of a shot, before disappearing across the marshland with a brief tweet of laughter.

Up in the bushes by the house we hoped to find the little Robin we had seen a while back. This time we were lucky and spotted the Robin hopping between the branches of the hedgerow.

Watching his antics we also spotted a young house sparrow sitting up in a tree all fluffed up against the cold winds. And colder it was too, and getting darker with rain clouds on their way in. So we said goodbye to the sparrow and made our way off back home

We hope that you enjoyed today’s outing. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick