Growing pains

Just days after my note on Oystercatcher roosts, and the final paragraphs mentioning the rebuilt cairn out on the RSPB reserve at Motney Hill, it seems that tresspassers are continuing to add to the pile, now visible at a distance easily from the likes of Bloors and Horrid Hill.

From land I visit (with permission) out on Motney, the 'path' over the reserve saltings has become more apparent of late (the middle distance rich green to very left in picture)- on this particular morning a digger had used it to access Rainham creek beyond. In the latest Google Earth imagery the path can be made out as a pale line skirting the southern edge of the saltings.

Today I was told by a local that the cairn has been rebuilt as a marker for illicit landings. Bit of a tall tale? Probably. But if that cairn continues to grow in size, it will just as surely grow in attraction for the off-piste general public.

One to watch.