Today we had our first visit to Oare Marshes Nature reserve near Faversham, UK. The day started off very grey and overcast as we started to explore the reserve. Oare Marshes are located on the south bank of the River Swale so there were plenty of black headed gulls screeching about overhead.
The sun soon popped out from the clouds and it turned into another sweltering day. It's a good job that we had our wide brimmed hats on otherwise badly burnt necks would have been the order of the day.
There were some volunteer workers strimming the reeds on the lakes and as they moved closer to the water, a large flock of Black Tailed Godwits took to the air. It was good to see these as we have not spotted any for quite a while now.
It was very peaceful (apart from the constant buzz from the workers strimmers) walking along the footpaths. We watched a gaggle of Greylag geese waddle down the bank into the lake playing follow my leader
A bit further along and we had the pleasure of watching a beautiful Litte Egret fly down and land nearby. He soon began to fish and appeared to catch quite a few little fish from the lake. After 10 minutes or so, he tired of fishing and took off flying to the middle of the lake onto a raised bank where he began to preen himself. So we packed up our gear and started walking on, only to see the Egret fly back to the same spot and start fishing again. Back we went as well and continued to watch him for quite a while before he flew off to another location.
The butterflies were out in force as well, dancing amongst the wild flowers along the pathways. Here you can see a Painted Lady enjoying the blossom.
We hope that you enjoyed our little story and would welcome any comments or suggestions. Further pictures from our trip to Oare Marshes can be found by visiting our Nature Galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk
Steve & Mick
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