New life to celebrate at Martin Mere
Although our centre is currently closed to the public, our work has been continuing behind the scenes. It’s been a very busy week, with new arrivals to look after for both teams.
Although our centre is currently closed to the public, our work has been continuing behind the scenes. It’s been a very busy week, with new arrivals to look after for both teams.
On Sunday 22nd March, four Cape Barren goslings hatched. As a relatively new pairing at Martin Mere, these are the first goslings from this pair of geese, who will now have a lifelong bond. The new goslings, which have a strong black and white pattern resembling a mint humbug, have spent the week being well looked after and getting used to their new home. They’ve been exploring their enclosure and have had had their first swim - they’ve been keeping Mum and Dad on their toes! You can read the full story about these new arrivals here.
Over on the reserve, it’s been quite an exciting week with lots of activity. The Mediterranean Gulls are still present on the mere and over 30 pairs of Lapwings have been seen pairing up and nest scraping. Fingers crossed there will be lots of Lapwing chicks hatching over the coming months. The team have also heard Cetti’s Warblers singing in places on the reserve that they haven’t been heard before, so we're hopeful that these are new pairs from last year’s fledged chicks.
The week ended on a high note with the first calf of the year being born overnight on Sunday 29th March. Mum and calf are doing well and there are another 23 calves due over the coming months so we will keep you updated on when they arrive.
We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support during this difficult time - your kind words through email and across our social media channels have brought smiles to our faces. If you’re a member, your membership does so much more than help us run our Wetland Centres. Our conservation work protects wetlands, wildlife and people’s wellbeing all round the world. Keeping your membership going ensures we are here in the future to continue that work.
Although you may not be able to visit our wetland centre for now, over the coming weeks we will keep it virtually accessible to you via our website and social media feeds. We will provide you with updates from behind the scenes, and hints and tips on how you can support and connect with nature during these unusual times. Hopefully we’ll help fill some of the gap caused by the current restrictions.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates from us.
