News
Recent - Sightings 7th January 2019
Count taken at Low tide this morning. Happy New Year to all! Hopefully the new year will be just as good for birds this year as it was last year! The highlights this morning were the wintering ducks assemblage on the Main lake and the infrequently sighted
7 January 2019
Sightings for Monday 7th January
Dry day here at Welney today, all hide are open. Sightings so far today: Bewick's swan Mute swan Whooper swan Barnacle goose Brent goose Greylag goose Pink-Footed goose (59) White-fronted goose Gadwall Goldeneye Mallard Pintail Pochard Ring-necked duck Sh
7 January 2019
Wildlife sightings - 07/01/19
a.m. Tide Level: Low Wader Lake Snipe 4 Teal 86 Lapwing 7 Shelduck 29 Heron 3 Shoveler 4 Saline Lagoon Snipe 1 Teal 4 Curlew 44 Hawthorn Wood Brambling 4 Reed bunting 2 Lesser redpoll 4 Common/mealy redpoll 1 Greenfinch 1 Willow tit 1 Chaffinch 15 Siskin
7 January 2019
Reserve Update Monday 7th January
Blustery start to the day but this is proving ideal for wader watching. Mixed flock of over 300 Golden Plover and Lapwing in the Lochar field. This field has also been good recently for Redshank, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin so do have a sca
7 January 2019
Jack Snipe and Common Snipe on the wader scrape
(Snipe) 2 Bittern - main lake (North shore). Headley and Dulverton Hides 6 Pintail - main lake, reservoir lagoon 6 Snipe - scrape(4), main lake(2) 2 Jack Snipe - scrape December/January bird highlights: Shelduc
7 January 2019
Wild Winter Weekend Day 2
Rushy Hide Just under 100 Bewick's Swans were present at dawn plus the usual gathering of Greylag and Canada Geese, Pintail, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shelduck, Coot and Moorhen. The lower pond holding Teal and Lapwing. Martin Smith Hide Good views a
6 January 2019
Latest Sightings
Overcast but not particularly cold in the light winds today. Solid numbers of wildfowl using the reserve with fifteen species of swan, geese and duck present with upwards of 15,000 birds; Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Geese, Greylag, Canada, She
6 January 2019
Today's sightings
Bewick's swan Whooper swan Mute swan Greylag goose Canada goose Barnacle goose White-fronted goose x 8 Shelduck Shoveler Mallard Pintail Gadwall Wigeon Teal Ringed teal (escapee) Pochard Tufted duck Cormorant Coot Moorhen Little egret Curlew x 10 Black-ta
6 January 2019
Kingfisher in Wildside
Kingfisher by Alec Pelling 1 Bittern - main lake (North shore) 3 Pintail - main lake 5 Snipe - wader scrape 2 Jack Snipe - wader scrape 2 Water Pipit - grazing marsh 1 Kingfisher - Wildside 1 Kestrel - shel
6 January 2019
Wild Winter Saturday
The drake Goldeneye is still present but no sign yet of the female. The drake has occasionally disappeared from the South Lake, but we've refound him on the Big Pen next to the Visitor Centre, so keep an eye open as your cross the boardwalk. Martin Smi
5 January 2019
Bewick's Swan
After no sightings on the reserve during the winter period 2017-18, 2 Bewick's Swan flew onto the reserve late afternoon. The decline of wintering Bewick's Swan has been dramatic given the record count at Martin Mere is 1046 during the winter of 1990-91.
5 January 2019
Today's sightings
Ring-necked duck (main observatory) Bewick's swan Whooper swan Mute swan Greylag Canada goose White-fronted goose x 7 Shelduck Shoveler Mallard Pintail Gadwall Wigeon Teal Ringed teal Pochard Tufted duck Cormorant Coot Moorhen Grey heron Great egret Littl
5 January 2019
Latest Sightings - Saturday 5th January
Still no sign of the Green-winged Teal since it was seen on the 2nd January. The two Greater Scaup are still on the Whooper Pond, one of them appears to have some Tufted Duck in it's ancestry as it shows a Tufted Duck bill (completely dark tip, as opposed
5 January 2019
Pintail showing well today
Northern Pintail at Slimbridge by James Lees 2 Bittern - main lake (North shore) 7 Pintail - main lake 1 Shelduck - main lake 71 Lapwing - main lake 4 Snipe - wader scrape 17 Redwing - flew over heading SW 1 Water Pip
5 January 2019
Whooper swan spectacular this winter
Happy New Year! What better way to celebrate the start of the New Year than with a visit to WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre. Come and discover why we’re the only place in the North West that welcomes thousands of whooper swans over winter. Every year, ar
4 January 2019