Thousands of geese come in
21,000 Pink-footed geese have arrived at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre making this one of the best wildlife spectacles in the North West over the next few weeks. The centre will expect anything up to 40,000 to use the nature reserve in October.
Reserve Manager, Tom Clare, said: “I had my most memorable moment at Martin Mere in the Ron Barker hide. As I looked out, the two marshes were completely covered in 25,000 geese. I waited to see them take off which is one of the greatest sights in nature. Late September and October is one of the best times of the year to visit WWT Martin Mere as it is amazing to see the geese fly in during the afternoon to roost on the mere.”
But how do they get here? Many of us will see and hear the familiar sound at this time of year of the geese calling overhead in a V formation. Pink-footed geese will remain in this formation throughout the 500 mile journey from Iceland with the senior geese taking it in turns to lead the group whilst the youngsters follow. The older geese will recognize landmarks to help guide them to WWT Martin Mere and the surrounding area, both natural guides such as the Ribble Estuary and Morecambe Bay, and man-made structures such as the M6.
The geese will stay in this area for as long as they have food which is often grain on local fields. Ultimately they will move on to spend the winter in Norfolk
Over the last 30 years, there has been a massive increase in the number of geese travelling through Lancashire, which will often get 25% of the Icelandic population of Pink-feet (approximately 100,000). WWT Martin Mere had a record number of geese arrive in 2011 with 36,000 of them roosting on site.
Visitors also have the opportunity to watch the geese at dusk at special late night openings every Wednesday and Saturday night. The nature trail will be open until 7pm and you can get free entry to see the spectacle of thousands of geese coming into roost after 5.30pm.
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am to 6pm until 30 October and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight WWT Wetland Centres.
