News
Dawn swan count
This morning we went out at the crack of dawn to count how many swans were roosting on the reserve. We need to get there before they fly off to the surrounding fields to feed on potatoes and sugar beet tops. Whooper swans 3253 Bewick's swans 99 Mute swa
11 November 2014
Latest Sightings
Plenty of activity throughout the reserve with most wildfowl counts on the increase. No specific data as such but the wardens are working on that. Everything bar Pink-footed Geese will be increasing in number, especially with the onset of colder condition
11 November 2014
Today's sightings
Holden Tower Golden Plover 1600 Lapwing 2000 Dunlin 700 Peregrine 1 Barnacle Goose 200 Canada Goose 230 Little Stint 1 Marsh Harrier 1+ Dark-bellied Brent 2 juveniles Curlew 72 Tack Piece E.White-fronted Goose 13 Greylag 281 Bewick's Swan 6 Ruff 4 Curlew
11 November 2014
Today's Sightings
Wader Lake Time/AM Tide/Low Teal - 48 Mallard - 39 Grey Heron - 2 Shelduck - 2 Saline Lagoon Shelduck - 3 Teal - 15 Wood Pigeon - 76 Hawthorn Wood Bullfinch - 10 Chaffinch - 4 Blue Tit - 14 Great Tit - 2 Coal Tit - 8 Greenfin
11 November 2014
Today's bird sightings
British Steel hide / estuary 2 golden plover, great white egret, 9 snipe, 3 spotted redshank, 20 greenshank, 564 black tailed godwit, 40 redshank, 205 curlew, 3 dunlin, 4 knot, 124 lapwing, 6 little egret, 2 little grebe, 83 wigeon, 18 teal, 12 tufted duc
11 November 2014
Latest Sightings
Barnacle Geese: 7,000 around the reserve. Whooper Swans: 50 around the reserve. High tide: 14:43pm 8.9m Whooper Pond Whooper Swan 50 Mute Swan 38 Mallard 180 Tufted Duck 40 Wigeon 70 Canada Geese 60 Greylag Geese 1 Folly Pond Green-winged Tea
11 November 2014
Wildlife sightings for 11th October 2014
54 Wigeon - grazing marsh, wader scrape 1 Marsh Harrier - (female) over Reedbeds briefly before heading SW 1 Peregrine - hunting over main lake 2 Stonechat - grazing marsh November bird highlights: Bittern, Jack Snipe, Little Gull, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Wat
11 November 2014
Pintail numbers over 40 years
Every winter thousands of Whooper swans and Pink-footed geese descend on WWT Martin Mere to use the reserve as a safe haven, but there are also thousands of ducks that come and spend the winter at the wetland centre. Each year thousands of shelduck, pinta
11 November 2014
Today's sightings- WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) count
Some highlights for today Holden Tower Dumbles at high tide Golden Plover 1731 Lapwing 1873 Knot 1-among roosting plover Dunlin 770 Little Stint 2 Brent Goose 4- 2 juvenile Dark-bellied grazing saltmarsh and 2 juveniles floating up on tide (probably Dark-
10 November 2014
Today's bird sightings
British Steel hide 16 greenshank, 305 black tailed godwit, 5 spotted redshank, 5 dunlin, 2 snipe, 57 lapwing, 97 curlew, 76 brent goose, 105 pintail, 91 shelduck, 146 wigeon, 2 little grebe, 2 water rail, 9 little egret, 4 blackcap and 4 stonechat.
10 November 2014
Dragonflies defy the frost & passerines dine on the hedgerows
Paul Steven’s weekly diary runs as the Wildlife Sightings column in the weekly Observer series of newspapers. I thought the heavy frost we had last Thursday to be the death knell to this seasons dragonfly population but our boat drivers spotted common d
10 November 2014
Latest Sightings
Whooper Pond Whooper Swan 60 Mute Swan 30 Mallard 140 Tufted Duck 50 Wigeon 100 Teal 16 Gadwall 3 Greylag Goose 3 Canada Goose 50 Folly Pond GREEN-WINGED TEAL ♂ Teal 100 Wigeon 100 Shoveler 8 Black-tailed Godwit 50 Snipe 2 Redshank 4 Avenue Tower Te
10 November 2014
Today's Sightings
Wader Lake Time/AM Tide/Low Teal - 10 Shoveler - 2 Black-headed Gull - 15 Moorhen - 2 Mallard - 8 Redshank - 1 Saline Lagoon Heron - 1 Curlew - 10 Shelduck - 2 Teal - 8 Hawthorn Wood Bullfinch - 14 Greenfinch - 4 Blue Tit - 6
10 November 2014
Wildlife sightings for 10th November 2014
58 Wigeon - marsh, scrape 2 Stonechat - perched on fox fence on marsh 1 Skylark - flew over main lake Additional sighting from yesterday: 1 Bat sp. flying around the Peacock Tower around 5 p.m. November bird highlights: Bittern, Jack Snipe,
10 November 2014
Water Rail
The Water Rail is still showing from the Ron Barker Hide along with 1-2 Kingfisher. Still good numbers of raptors on site with 8+ Common Buzzard, 2 Marsh Harrier, Kestrel Sparrowhawk and Peregrine. Sunset over the Mere at
9 November 2014