Dabchicks

As I mentioned before in my 'Dragons in the garden' post I had spent the morning searching unsuccessfully for dragonflies at Rainham RSPB reserve.
I spent some time waiting for the Kingfishers to show in the DMZ area, having now successfully reared a second brood, little did I know that they had fledged two days earlier, and had left the immediate area, while I was patiently waiting I was entertained by a family group of Little grebes or Dabchicks as they were called in my day, the mother was very attentive, diving down catching fish for her two youngsters right in front of the glass window, the water is quite clear and you could watch the grebe under water searching for food .

Little Grebe ( Dabchick)

A brood of Reed warblers were using the Dragonfly sculptures as a feeding station, interestingly a young Reed warbler displayed the same begging routine as the House Sparrows in the garden.

Juvenile Reed warbler

Always nice when you come across a water Vole this one was busy munching away on the reeds totally oblivious to me watching.

Water Vole

As I mentioned before Dragonflies were in short supply today, but this Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (also known as the 'Belted Hoverfly') the largest in Britain provided a nice  photo opportunity.

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly Volucella zonaria

And finally an Essex skipper sheltering in the long grasses, and showing off those black tips to the antenna. 

Essex skipper

Not a complete disaster, summer's not over yet, and there will be more days to go dragon hunting,

 still lots of wildlife to see.