Sightings - Martin Mere
Latest Sightings
After Saturday's brutal rain swept chill Sunday started in sunshine and light winds. A few small groups of Pink-footed Geese coming onto the reserve today. These are always worth looking through as locally a few European White-fronted Geese have recently
16 December 2018
Latest Sightings
Light winds, sunshine and a frosty start make for perfect winter birding conditions. 1000's of birds on the Mere this morning A few counts just on the Mere produced 580 Shelduck, 470 Wigeon, 490 Teal, 220 Pintail, 40
14 December 2018
Latest Sightings
After last weeks wind and rain the current weather is a dream and the mostly west-ish facing hides are comfortable when the wind is coming from the east. Continuing a good run for raptors in the past days we have had daily Merlin, 2 Peregrine (ad female a
12 December 2018
Tawny Owl
We have a couple of pairs of Tawny Owl on site, one pair at opposite ends of the reserve. The pair near the Kingfisher Hide have been elusive, but today one bird has returned to the regular roosting site allowing visitors to get a look (through ivy) at th
8 December 2018
Some counts and scarce birds
Mostly rain on Wednesday and light winds. A compilation of the last couple of days sightings. This mornings count produced just under 6000 Pink-footed Geese and 807 Whooper Swan. Some recent waste root crop deliveries on Top Mere have undoubtedly encourag
5 December 2018
Good for Raptors
A change in weather bring noticeably milder conditions in between some misty rain. The past few days has seen plenty of raptor action with Merlin, 4+ Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 3+ Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk and 2 Kestrel. Barn Owl occasionally showing in the m
2 December 2018
Some Counts
A change to some milder but windy weather and the first rain we've had for a while. A dawn count of Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swan produced just over 6000 geese and 457 Whooper Swan. More speculation than access to data but it looks like many of the o
28 November 2018
Latest Sightings
A big thank you to everybody who came along at the weekend to the North West Bird Watching Festival. The weather was great and there was lots of bird activity over the two days. Great for raptors with at least 5 Marsh Harrier around the reserve and coming
26 November 2018
Bird News
Lots of birds around today - a great primer for the North West Birdwatching festival which takes place at Martin Mere this weekend ( https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/experience/north-west-bird-watching-festival/ ). 2 Avocets on the Mere
23 November 2018
Winds from the East
As the easterly winds set in and the temperature falls we should see an increase in wildfowl coming out of continental Europe. The other great thing about easterlies at Martin Mere is that the wind won't be blowing through most of the hide windows. Altho
20 November 2018
Bird News
No major changes over the past few days, but Peregrines have been showing particularly well this week, and a nice male Merlin has been seen hunting over the fields and perching up on fence posts. Probably best looked for from the United Utilities hide. O
16 November 2018
Some Wildfowl Counts and other birds
Sunny and clear with a fresh cool wind today. Mostly increasing numbers of wildfowl visiting the reserve bar the Pink-footed Geese which have dropped to 5300. Pochard showing well in front of the Discovery Hide An i
13 November 2018
Short-eared Owl
A brief update. A Short-eared Owl put in an appearance from the Ron Barker Hide this afternoon. Another good raptor day with 6 species seen; Merlin, Peregrine, 5 Marsh Harrier, 4 Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk and 3 Kestrel. Two
11 November 2018
Bird News
A Green Sandpiper seen from the Ron Barker hide today was the only "new" bird reported today. However very large numbers of birds, particularly wildfowl are present on the reserve. Many of these are showing exceptionally well down to a couple of metres fr
9 November 2018
Latest Sightings
Calm but cool and overcast today. No specific counts but we can approximate wildfowl numbers as follows: 600+ Whooper Swan roosting with smaller numbers in during the day. Over 3000 Pink-footed Geese roosting. Locally an adult Greenland White-fronted Goos
8 November 2018