Latest sightings

The common tern chicks on the mere are getting very large and nearly ready to fledge, still plenty of black headed gulls on the mere. The cattle are doing a great job on the mere eatting the cow parsley and all of the rough grasses, over the next few year

8 July 2020

Latest sightings

Still lots of flowers along the footpaths attracting a great variety of insects perfect for photo opportunities.The reserve team are working on the footpath to the Gordon Taylor hide taking advantage of the dry weather which is expected. There are great v

6 July 2020

Hornet Clearwing moth

Exciting sighting on 02/07/2020, a Hornet Clearwing moth, photo graph by Kez Glennon. This is the first record for Martin Mere and the third record for Lancashire. The caterpillar feeds on the wood just under the bark of black poplar which we have a few o

3 July 2020

Latest sightings

Lots of fledglings on the feeders at Janet Kear hide including great tits, blue tits, chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinches, bullfinches and great spotted woodpeckers.The oystercatcher chick in the grounds has fledged and is often seen with it's parents

2 July 2020

Latest sightings

Unfortunately we have been closed on Sunday and Monday due to high winds, Friday and Saturday highlights below.The wildflowers in the grounds and reserve look great there are still forget-me-nots, ragged robin, oxeye daisies, Lord's and ladies, field scab

29 June 2020

Latest sightings

We checked the barn owl boxes today and the box near the Ron Barker hide has 4 chicks, the box in the harrier hide has 5 chicks and the box in doehyles has 7 chicks, a great barn owl year. They can be seen lots hunting on the reserve. We ringed the chicks

25 June 2020

Latest sightings

At least 6 med gulls on the mere, one is a recently fledged chick unfortunately not from here but we possibly have 2 med gull nests. The black headed gulls have fledged lots of chicks this year, the common tern chicks are getting bigger and the adults are

22 June 2020

Latest sightings

We are now open but you must book your visit online, please visit our website to book. Most of the hides are open apart from United utilities, Hale and Gladstone, there are one way systems in place and the hides have half the windows locked open and half

18 June 2020

Latest sightings

We are now open but you can only visit if you have booked, please book your tickets on our website. Some of the hides are closed (United utilities, Hale and gladstone) there is a one way system in place so to get to the Gordon Taylor hide you must go arou

15 June 2020

Latest sightings

We have been open for 2 days now, bookings only on our website to limit numbers and ensure social distancing. Most of the hides are open but we have had to close United utilities, kingfisher, Hale and gladstone as they are either too small, can't have a o

11 June 2020

Latest sightings

We are gearing up to opening on Wednesday 10th June, it is booking only, details on our website, sorry if you haven't got your tickets yet but more will be released on Wednesday 10th at 9am. The rain has put some much needed water on woodend marsh which t

8 June 2020

Latest sightings

A lovely pair of otters on the mere today (photo)The rain has arrived which has refreshed the ground, we are due rain over the next few days which will hopefully fill the pool in woodend marsh. Currently on woodend marsh there are ringed plovers, little r

4 June 2020

Lots of avocet chicks

We have had lots of avocets hatch this week and now have 20 brood on the site, some are infront of the Gordon Taylor hide (which is very dry at the moment, hopefully we’ll see some rain on Wednesday) Photo Ian Henderson/WWT. There are 102 black-tailed g

1 June 2020

First avocet chicks

Are first avocet chicks hatched this week, so far we have 5 broods on the mere and many more to hatch over the next few days. 6 lapwing chicks have fledged so far and they are currently in front of the Gordon Taylor hide. We have a flock of 86 black-taile

28 May 2020

Warblers galore

We have had some very sunny and calm days which has been great for our warblers, the reed and sedge warbler males have been singing loudly in the reedbed, in some areas the territories are very close together as they compete against each other. The great

21 May 2020