Bird fair comes to Martin Mere
Tim Birkhead, Lloyd Buck, Biotope and Flight of the Swans' Sacha Dench are just some of the guest speakers visiting WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre for the annual extravaganza: North West Bird Watching Festival on Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 November. The event is sponsored by Panasonic and all of the activities are included in the admission fee.
Whether you’re a group of photographers, birdwatchers or you all just love the outdoors, there is something for everyone at this event in Burscough, Ormskirk.
You can attend a range of wildlife talks and seminars; see hundreds of Whooper swans feed alongside shelduck, teal, wigeon and thousands of Pink-footed geese; pick up tips from photography seminars and workshops; see demonstrations; network with experts to learn more about our feathered friends; browse through lots of wildlife and bird watching goodies including clothing, books, carvings, wildlife holidays and much more; and round your day off with some delicious homemade cake at the Mere Side Cafe.
Highlights at the bird watching festival at WWT Martin Mere include:
- Having access to the reserve from 8am, offering your group the chance to watch and photograph tens of thousands of pink-footed geese and Whooper swans as they awake and leave their roost
- Seeing the award winning spectacle of up to a thousand Whooper swans feeding right in front of them on the mere, as well as thousands of shelduck, wigeon and teal, at 3pm from the new 50m Discovery hide which also includes a warden’s talk.
- Access to free ringing demonstration workshops allowing you to get up close to some wonderful species
- Walking with Reserve Manager Tom Clare to find the top ten species at Martin Mere at this time of year
- Testing your group’s birdwatching skills by seeing who can spot the most species at Martin Mere between 9.30 – 3.30 on Saturday 12 November to win prizes.
- See a display from the British Bird Carving Champion: David Clews
- Attend 4K seminars with Panasonic and listen to a seminar from Ken Clark about photographing the UK’s eagles.
For further event information, workshop bookings and a detailed list of exhibitors, please visit: www.wwt.org.uk/nwbf.
WWT Martin Mere is open for this event from 9.30am to 4.30pm 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 centres.
