Latest sightings
Latest Sightings
This week’s most exciting activity has been at the sewage farm. Although maybe an unlikely habitat, the warmth the sewage farm emits allows insectivores to feed there all year round. At least two Siberian chiffchaffs have been joining the common chiffca
20 January 2023
Latest Sightings
Raptors are continuing to put on a show over much of the reserve with double figures of marsh harriers seen most days and gatherings of them can be seen towards the end of the day over the reedbed, before they head to roost. A merlin was seen from Ron Bar
16 January 2023
Latest Sightings
Birds on the reserve this past week have remained largely similar to the previous, our most recent whooper swan count was 579, with the best place to view them from being on the main mere from Discovery hide. A few can also be seen now and then from harri
14 January 2023
Latest Sightings
Plenty of birds about around the reserve at the moment. Pink-footed goose and whooper swan numbers are remaining fairly constant but its great to see the pochards slightly increasing in number with 8 in front of Reins on the 7th. The mere is full of wigeo
9 January 2023
Latest Sightings
The cold snap has pushed some more migratory wildfowl from the continent. Pochard numbers are up to 24, up from single figures a month ago. They come to us to escape the harsher winters of Russia and Western Europe, their breeding grounds. Pochard are div
5 January 2023
Latest Sightings
Another beautiful day on the reserve the mere is alive with lots of ducks swans and geese and clouds of lapwing. a lovely female kingfisher was posing infront of the Kingfisher hide yesterday and again this morning catching lots of small fish. There are
2 January 2023
New years day
New Years Day many birders start off their annual bird list and there is no better place to visit, in my opinion, than Martin Mere. It was a very wet start to the morning but that didnt stop the blackbirds alarm calling near the Ron Barker hide, alerting
1 January 2023
Latest Sightings
Temperatures have warmed and the ice covering the reserve has melted away. The teal have returned to Woodend marsh with around 300 there consistently along with 2 snipe and a grey wagtail. Pink-footed goose numbers are fluctuating but remaining quite low,
23 December 2022
Latest Sightings
The temperature has suddenly warmed and much of the ice covering the reserve is melting away. The teal have returned to Woodend marsh with around 300 there this morning along with 2 snipe and a flythrough kingfisher and a grey wagtail. Pink-footed goose n
19 December 2022
Latest Sightings
Despite all the colder whether recently there is still plenty of birdlife to see on the reserve. The majority of the ducks have now finished there moult and the male pintails in particular are looking fantastic, with 158 of them on the mere today! Whooper
12 December 2022
Latest Sightings
This week the temperature has really dropped on the reserve. The first proper frosts have set in and large sections of the mere have frozen over. Wildfowl can be seen either gathering in the parts that haven’t frozen over or attempting to skitter across
8 December 2022
Latest Sightings
Wader visitation continues apace this week. Fourteen ruff were counted in front of Raines Hide at noon today along with three black tailed godwits on the mere. On Sunday there was a golden plover and two dunlin flocking with the lapwings at Gordon Taylor.
5 December 2022
Latest Sightings
It’s been a chilly couple of days on the reserve, and cold weather has pushed some of our Eastern migrants in. Large numbers of fieldfares from Scandinavia were bustling in the trees between Hale and Ron Barker hides. Higher numbers of pintails from Rus
1 December 2022
Latest Sightings
The blue flash of a kingfisher was seen darting along the sluice in front of Ron Barker this morning.Numbers of whooper swans continue to slowly build, with our latest count at 426. You can tell apart the newer arrivals from the ones who have been here fo
28 November 2022
Latest Sightings
Another exciting week here at Martin mere, with yesterday in particular having a few visits from some great birds! The first was an adult Bewick's swan that roosted on the mere with the whoopers, seen on the morning of the 20th but left shortly after firs
21 November 2022