Wildlife

Experience incredible wildlife spectacles, colourful landscapes, and close-up encounters with wildlife.

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With 600 acres of amazing wetland scenery, you can discover many species of wildfowl at Martin Mere as you explore nature this spring.

Star species: black-headed gull, Cetti’s warbler, kingfisher, marsh harrier, avocet, orange-tip butterfly

The islands on the mere are full of life with upto 1000 black-headed gulls building their nests, watch their squabbles and look out for the first chicks hatching in May.

Cetti's warblers, with their explosive song, are often heard and not seen. We have up to 25 pairs on the reserve, with most of them on the reedbed walk.

Footpaths between hides are full of orange tip butterflies in spring where their favourite food plants cuckoo flower and garlic mustard grow.

A wild guide to spring

Use our guide to make the most of spring wildlife at Martin Mere. Enjoy your wetland adventure!

With 600 acres of amazing wetland scenery, you can discover many species of wildfowl at Martin Mere as you explore nature this summer.

Star species: reed warblers, avocets, dragonflies, barn owls

Look out for banded demoiselles - a stunning damselfly found across the reserve. The best place to see them is the ditch near the Gordon Taylor hide.

It's always an amazing day when you see a barn owl, with our 600 acres of fields full of voles we have 3 pairs of barn owls which are most active in the summer as they are hunting to feed their chicks.

The reedbed comes alive in the summer as all of the warblers that have been over wintering in Africa return and fill the reedbed with song. See if you can tell the differences between the sedge and reed warblers.

A wild guide to summer

Use our guide to make the most of summer wildlife at Martin Mere. Enjoy your wetland adventure!

In Autumn the reserve fills with thousands of migratory birds as they join us to avoid harsher winters back home.

Highlights include upto 50,000 pink-footed geese descending to roost; flocks of pintail and wigeon; and towards the end of the season, whooper swans join the flock.

With 600 acres of amazing wetland scenery, you can discover many species of wildfowl at Martin Mere as you explore nature this winter.

Star species: whooper swans, starlings, brambling, willow tits

Come along to the swan feeds at 3pm for a whooper swan spectacular. Look out amongst the swans and you’ll see other fantastic species including shelduck, wigeon, pintail, ruff and black-tailed godwits.

At dusk watch for flocks of starlings returning to roost in the reedbed sometimes they swirl in these magnificent displays.

Spend a mindful moment sat watching the Janet Kear feeding station. A whole range of species can be seen, highlights include willow tits, brambling and tree sparrows.