Latest sightings
Sightings
A chilly clear start to the day. Glad to have the sun present for most of the day otherwise it would have been as cold as it was in the hides! The first Orange-tip Butterfly of the year braved the coo [...]
15 April 2012
Spring Migrants
With most of the air flow coming from the north it does feel like a rather slow start to spring. There have been some birds battling in against the cool condition with the years first Willow Warbler s [...]
14 April 2012
White Wagtails
More signs of spring as the first White Wagtail, two birds, dropped in on islands on the Mere. Easily over looked as Pied Wagtails, but unlike them the White Wagtail has a pale grey mantle. Have a loo [...]
11 April 2012
111 Avocet
A record count of 111 adult Avocet for the reserve this morning. I think we have recorded more birds (~120) when there have been chicks about. Other wader counts included 200+ Lapwing, 50 Curlew, 42 O [...]
10 April 2012
Lazy Birding
The fairly awful 'bank holiday weather' did have the potential to drop a few new birds onto the reserve, and if it did nobody reported them. However I did squeeze in some birding between my [...]
9 April 2012
Wheatear & Martins
The highlights today included a male Wheatear on the boundary of the reserve and 4 Sand Martins which flew north at c18.30. Otherwise waders dominated with some more good counts, 87 Curlew were again [...]
7 April 2012
Curlew record
90 Curlews on the reserve today represents the highest total recorded here to date (the previous record was 74 in April 2004). Continuing the wader theme, Martin Mere's first Little Ringed P [...]
5 April 2012
No Osprey (again)
There are plenty of Osprey on the move at the moment with many passing over the North-West. Keep your eyes peeled as they are just about annual on the reserve and continue to move North into May. A ne [...]
4 April 2012
Swallow
I don't think the irony should be lost that the first definite sighting of Swallow on the reserve should come on a day when snow is forecast on the Pennines. How does that saying go, one Swallow.. [...]
3 April 2012
A few spots of rain.
It has been very dry over the last few weeks, and the current forecast isn't looking too hopeful for producing more than a few spots of rain that we had this morning and late afternoon. Regular re [...]
2 April 2012
Some counts
No surprises to see that recent counts put waterfowl numbers at the lowest since the beginning of the autumn migration. Thirty six Whooper Swan, 132 Teal, 128 Wigeon, 6 Pochard, 10 Tufted, 8 Gadwall, [...]
31 March 2012
Wheatears
Firstly, a belated report from yesterday, when 2 Wheatears were reported from the United Utilities hide. Todays highlight was a Short-eared Owl, which was seen from the Ron Barker hide along with at l [...]
30 March 2012
33 Whoopers
So much easier to count when the numbers drop away. Pretty much the last of the Whoopers with just 33 birds. In recent years we have had around 4 or 5 injured birds that over summer. Sixty six Avo [...]
28 March 2012
Crossbill and Greenshank
Crossbill seen feeding on Pines around the Kingfisher Hide. Crossbill is a rare bird on the reserve, this being only the third record for the reserve. There are apparently photographs of the bird. If [...]
27 March 2012
150 Whooper Swan
The Whooper Swan count this morning was down to 150. Ideal weather for them to be migrating North. Similar wader counts to yesterday although a few Common Snipe were also recorded. Worth noting th [...]
26 March 2012