Geese arrive back!
Over 30,000 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.
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 when WWT Martin Mere can expect thousands of Whooper swans to start arriving at the centre for the winter.
Over the last 30 years, there has been a massive increase in the number of geese travelling through Lancashire and North West, 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 2014 with 45,800 of them roosting on site and there is still time to beat this existing record over the next couple of weeks.
The centre is also offering special access to allow visitors to see the geese at dawn and dusk. From 23 September, the Martin Mere reserve will be opening late until 7pm every Wednesday and Saturday to allow visitors to see the spectacle of thousands of geese come into roost which is often later in the day. Dawn flight events are also taking place every Saturday morning in October to come in from 7am to see the geese as they wake at Dawn. The dawn flight events require booking in advance by calling 01704 895181.
Martin Mere is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am to 6pm during summer months (and 4.30pm during the winter) 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.
