North West Bird Watching Festival returns to Martin Mere
Martin Mere Wetland Centre’s annual extravaganza, the North West Bird Watching Festival, returns in November and it’s an event not to be missed.
Martin Mere Wetland Centre’s annual extravaganza, the North West Bird Watching Festival, returns in November and it’s an event not to be missed. Join us on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November to hear from a wide range of guest speakers, including wildlife presenter Nigel Marven, wildlife author Kate Bradbury and underwater cameraman and photographer Jack Perks.
There’ll be a range of talks on throughout each day, with topics including Nigel Marven’s life with birds, wildlife gardening for all with Kate Bradbury and how WWT are working to save the world’s rarest bird, the Madagascan Pochard. Throughout the weekend, there’ll be two guided reserve walks a day where you can learn all about the best bits of our Reedbed Walk and will be introduced to our most interesting birds and wetland animals.
Our Reserve Manager is an expert bird ringer and she’ll be demonstrating bird ringing on both waterfowl and smaller species across the weekend. For the keen photographers, wildlife and conservation photographer Alan Hewitt will be hosting daily interactive workshops, full of tips and tricks for getting the most out of your camera. The weekend will be a great opportunity to network with like-minded people and meet some of the best experts in the industry.
We’ll also have a number of stalls in our main building selling wildlife and bird watching goodies, bird watching holidays and much more. Wildlife artist Chris Shields will also be at the centre with a live illustration demonstration of our swan lake on both days.
General Manager Nick Brooks said “The North West Bird Watching Festival is one of our most popular events at the centre and is a great weekend for nature lovers and bird watchers to get together and celebrate all things wildlife."
We’ll be opening our reserve at 8am so you can witness the stunning sight of the birds as they wake on the mere. Afterwards, head over to our Mere Side Café which will be serving a full English breakfast from 9am and lots of tasty treats throughout the day.
Whether you’re a group of photographers, a keen birdwatcher or you just love the outdoors, there is something for everyone to enjoy. For full details and to book tickets, please visit our dedicated festival website.
