Latest sightings
Latest Sightings
With the weather growing colder here at Martin Mere, it’s feeling more and more like Winter – but that means some exciting wildlife news! Fieldfare and Redwing – winter thrushes from Scandinavia – have arrived on site in good numbers, and can be
17 November 2025
Latest sightings
The last 3 weeks we have had winds in the wrong direction for good swan migration so there is a big traffic jam in Iceland of birds wanting to come over. Looking at the weather forecast we have some nice Northerly winds on Sunday night and Tuesday night w
14 November 2025
Latest Sightings
It’s been a wildlife-packed few days at Martin Mere, with Autumn in full swing. Firstly, a whopping 51 Cattle Egret have been feeding with our herd of English Longhorn cattle – these can currently be seen distantly from the United Utilities hide. Oth
10 November 2025
Latest Sightings
On a great dry birdwatching day after all the rain we have had, the Bittern has been seen flying across the reedbed from the Rees and United Utilities hides and then across to the Mere View Hide this morning. Snipe are showing well from the 1st screen lo
6 November 2025
Latest Sightings
A highlight sighting from this past weekend was a single Otter, seen from Ron Barker Hide. This hide is still reliably one of the best places to spot Marsh Harrier coming to roost in the late afternoons. It has also been a common spot for Water Rail over
3 November 2025
Latest Sightings
The week so far at Martin Mere has been busy with a wide variety of bird life present here on the reserve. The dawn counts this Wednesday yielded 5111 Pink-Footed Geese, 435 Whooper Swans and 11 Canada Geese. 720 Greylag Geese were also counted in th
30 October 2025
Latest Sightings
Over the last few days we have seen an increase in Whooper Swan arriving on the Mere, a recent count reaching 158. Numbers of Teal remain high, with over 1000 visible from Ron Barker Hide. Marsh Harrier roost surveys began last week, 12 juveniles
27 October 2025
Latest Sightings
This Weekend at Martin Mere was the North West Bird Watching Festival, a wonderful celebration of all the birds here at the reserve and many people came to experience the incredible spectacle of the Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans stopping off on migr
20 October 2025
Latest Sightings
This week we have had a high count of 11,000 Pink-footed Geese migrating down to Martin Mere. Other exciting migration movements include small pulses of Redwing and the first Fieldfare for the season. Linnet have begun gathering in large flocks and on Th
17 October 2025
Latest Sightings
Yesterday morning, our reserve team conducted our monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). WeBS helps us to monitor internationally important wetland species and determine trends in their population and distribution. Prior to this, a dawn survey was conducted
14 October 2025
Latest Sightings
Bird life has been abundant this week here on the reserve at Martin Mere as more wintering birds arrive. The 2 Glossy Ibis have been seen frequently today and throughout the week from the United Utilities, Discovery and Ron Barker hides. It has
9 October 2025
Latest Sightings
The past few days have been exciting for Martin Mere’s birdlife, with a very autumnal feel in the air… Sunday saw the site’s first decent Whooper Swan arrival of the autumn, with over 100 birds counted throughout the day. An early-morning survey t
6 October 2025
Latest Sightings
The week so far has been teeming with wildlife here on the reserve at Martin Mere. 2155 Pink-Foooted Geese were counted in the fields on the back of the main mere on Tuesday. Other birds seen on the main mere this week include 2 Glossy Ibis (which
2 October 2025
Latest Sightings
The pair of juvenile Glossy Ibis have been showing well this weekend, often landing on the islands on the Mere to preen. We have also had an influx of 70+ Pintail on the mere as they come to join us from Northern Europe, Asia and North America for the win
29 September 2025
Latest Sightings
Another great sunny day for bird watching here at Martin Mere. We have had one Glossy Ibis over the last two weeks, but today we have sightings of two Gossy Ibis from the Ron Barker Hide and later on the Mere. 2 Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Harrier and 2 Sparrowh
25 September 2025