Latest sightings

Barn Owl and other birds

A wet start to the day probably resulted in a Barn Owl being out later than usual viewed from the Harrier Hide. No shortage of birds of prey with 10+ Common Buzzard, 4+ Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrel, 2 Sparrowhawk and Peregrine. Two Raven present yesterday. Th

6 October 2014

Bird News

Still jam packed with Pink-footed Geese although no counts. No additional Whooper Swans currently just 4 on the reserve, two new arrivals from yesterday and the two that over summered. Raptor reports included 3 Marsh Harrier, 15 Common Buzzards (from yest

3 October 2014

First Whoopers

First frost and the first confirmed Whooper Swans (a pair) of the autumn join the tens of thousands of Pink-footed Geese currently on the reserve. Pretty sure new geese were arriving this afternoon although some geese will be moving on to North Norfolk.

2 October 2014

45800 Pink-footed Geese

Records being broken daily with last nights roost count coming in at just under 46000! Pretty much every inch of water on Woodend, The Mere and Vinson's and Sunley's had a covering of Pink-footed Geese. Yesterday's juv leucistic Pink's dropped in on the M

30 September 2014

Record Numbers

The record count for Pink-footed Geese at WWT Martin Mere was broken yesterday with 36600 birds on the reserve in the afternoon. It's quite possible that a greater number eventually came into roost. The previous record was 36000 from October 2010. Huge nu

29 September 2014

Pink-foot Spectacle

Great birding and a great spectacle at the moment as the Pink-footed Geese influx continues. No concerted counts but undoubtedly 20,000+ birds in the area. At least one Barnacle Goose again and a few partial leucistic birds present among the flock (see be

27 September 2014

Pink-footed Goose count hits 21,500

Biggest count of the year so far with 21,500 Pink-footed Geese roosting on the reserve last night. Impressive numbers from the off this morning with 10,000+ present with lots of birds coming and going throughout the day. Definitely new skeins coming in fr

25 September 2014

15,000 + Pinks

The dawn count this morning produced just over 15,000 Pink-footed Geese and a single Barnacle Goose. Yesterday's big counts of 10,000+ were also from a seasoned observer and correct! The birds are moving around so if you are lucky you'll catch some big

24 September 2014

Autumn fare.

The current activity is all Pink-footed Goose based with perhaps as many as 6000 birds on the reserve mid afternoon, although some estimate up to twice that number. There maybe more in the local area however it can be difficult to judge with birds coming

23 September 2014

Pink-foot Influx

A couple of days ago we pondered the possibility that the weather patterns over Iceland might encourage some Pink-footed Goose migration, well it did! An early morning count produced c700 birds but by midday over 5000 had arrived with the majority coming

21 September 2014

Little Stints

A couple of new Little Stint in this morning on Sunley's Marsh viewed from the Ron Barker Hide. Around 600 Pink-footed Geese by late afternoon, perhaps flushed from the Ribble Estuary by the Air Show. Four Marsh Harrier including at least one wing-tagged

20 September 2014

Latest Sightings

A misty start, calm with light variable winds and some high cloud cover later in the day. There appears to have been a reduction in waders present on site with no reports of any Curlew Sandpiper or Little Stint today, although Little Stint was present yes

19 September 2014

Yellowhammers and Stoat

Even though Yellowhammers are present in the local area they are rarely seen on the reserve, so 3 birds in the Windmill field seen from Ron Barker Hide were very noteworthy. Grey Wagtails can be seen and heard most days on the reserve at the moment along

17 September 2014

Greenshank

The Little Stint and 3 Curlew Sandpipers were still present today along with a single Dunlin, early evening 2 juvenile Greenshank appeared on the Mere and 54 Ruff were counted this evening. One of the two Greenshank on the

15 September 2014

Curlew Sandpipers

The Curlew Sandpipers are still present fluctuating over the last few days between 5 and 7 birds, 7 were again seen this afternoon. The Little Stint was accompanying a single Dunlin and several Black tailed godwits on Vinson's most of the day.

14 September 2014