Hi everyone! Welcome back for another exciting entry into the reserves of Kent with Invicta Zoologia. This time I will be having a gander at the Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve in the picturesque Stour Valley.
Located beside the lovely little village of Stodmarsh, this reserve comprises marshland and wetland reservoir habitat spanning over 200 hectares of Northern area of Kent.
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| Wetland Stodmarsh Reserve |
As you begin one of the many walks around the reserve, boardwalks and bridges allow you to experience the scenic waterways and the wildlife found there. In the summer particularly, a myriad of coloured butterflies and dragonflies, including commas (Polygonia c-album), speckled woods (Pararge aegeria), common red darters (Sympetrum striolatum) and common blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) flit around investigating your presence.
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| Comma Butterfly perched on a hand rail |
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| Common red darter having temporarily landed on the stony path |
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| Speckled Wood Butterfly resting on a leaf |
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| Thick ledges of fungi growing on trunk |
Making your way to the more open areas of wetland, bird hides allow you to watch groups of wading birds feed and socialise with minimum human disturbance, and I particularly enjoyed watching the flocks of Greylag geese (Anser anser) seen below. The site in general is fantastic for viewing bird species, with its combination of wetland and marsh habitats providing plenty of ground-level vegetation for nesting and feeding. The water bodies also provide an ample supply of invertebrates and fish to support the avian colonies.
Interestingly, this aspect also contributes heavily to the site's status as a prime habitat for the endangered British water vole (Arvicola amphibius), although it would have to be a rather lucky day to spy a glimpse of these iconic aquatic mammals!
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| Geese cruising through the marsh |
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| Pair of Greylag geese strutting their stuff |
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| Feeding flock of Greylag geese |
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| Greylag floating in the still water |
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| Beautiful plumage of the Greylag goose |
Looking around while you attempt to navigate the myriad of walkways, little pockets of activity can generally be seen through the undergrowth, be it in wild ponds or in the many waterways criss crossing the landscape. Coot (Fulica atra) can be seen scattered around foraging for vegetation and invertebrates such as larvae and snails, as well as distant wetland growing trees in the heavy with flocks of fishing cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). Even immobile stands such as wild fungus growing upon fallen logs allow visitors to see the ever changing life cycles inherent in these ecosystems.
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| A good wing beat to get rid of that excess water |
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| New life growing from the old |
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| Foraging coot seen through the undergrowth |
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| Cormorants taking a fishing break |
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| One of Stodmarsh's many plant-rich walks |
For those of you a little more botanically minded, the reserve is also home to some lovely specimens of wetland, marsh and terrestrial plants, many of which create lovely summer displays of wild flowers. Common throughout the reserve, bulrush (Typha spp.) rhizomes can be picturesque alongside a pond or through marsh and as an interesting side note are almost entirely edible, with these "cattails" often referred to as "supermarkets of the swamp" in the US.
In terms of autumn sights, even weeds such as dandelions (Taraxacum spp.) and the conical seed heads of the teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) can, in my personal opinion, make for some beautiful seasonal photos when hit in the right light. For some foragers and florists, indeed the teasel's seed cone has even become a staple appearance in dried flower arrangements.
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| Dried out teasel seed pods |
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| Resilient dandelion in the autumn sun |
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| Insect looking out over the landscape from its grass perch |
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| Shadowy bench overlooking a lake |
So there you have it! Although I most likely will have to come back to this reserve to experience it in future seasons, if it's within reasonable travel distance it is well worth a trip out. I'm sure there are plenty of surprises that I either haven't managed to cover here or haven't had the chance to experience yet, so if you have a few hours free, why not give them to Kent's nature and have a go at exploring Stodmarsh and the Stour Valley!
For those who are interested, next time I will be taking a short break from looking at Kent's wildlife and will instead be having a hopefully different look at the wildlife and landscapes I have experienced a bit further afield, in both the UK and abroad. Also, for anyone who fancies a gander at more of my wildlife photography, links to both my DeviantART and Flickr galleries can be found along the right side of the blog.
See you next time!
