Sightings - Martin Mere
Wildfowl spectacle
Excellent numbers of Pink-footed Geese with several thousand on and off today with upto 1500 Whooper swan and good numbers of other wildfowl inc a single drake Goldeneye. The usual Peregrines were present again with the adult female and pale juvenile pres
17 November 2012
Green-winged Teal again
Green-winged Teal again with 2000+ Eurasian Teal from the Ron Barker Hide. Many more teal are present on the reserve. Plenty of Pink-footed Geese locally with around 5000 on the reserve mid morning. In with the Pink's were 30+ Barnacle Geese. A good rapto
14 November 2012
Teal in flight
Spectacular views of 4000+ Teal swirling around over Vinson Marsh this afternoon. Not quite sure what was flushing them but it was most likely one of the 3 Peregrines present today. The most recent Pink-footed Geese count was just under 12,000. Certainly
13 November 2012
Bird News
A wet start with a south-easterly wind. Never a bad wind as most of the hide windows face a westerly position. A month earlier this airflow may have brought interesting migrants onto the reserve but no reports of anything new today. Weather wise the rest
12 November 2012
Common Crane
The 3rd record of Common Crane this year was the highlight of the day, unfortunately it didn't stick around long before heading off towards Southport flushing thousands of Pink feet as it went. Photo: Tony Disley Upto 5000 Pink-footed Geese were using th
10 November 2012
1500 Whooper Swan
New highest count of Whooper Swan for this autumn with 1500 birds this morning. It never fails to impress when you see groups of these birds dropping in low over the trees before landing on the Mere. Around 10,000 Pink-footed Geese coming into roost, with
7 November 2012
Warmer but wetter
Today's sightings page isn't packed with reports. I guess many potential visitors (people) looked out of the window into the squally rain showers and decided to give it a miss! It's worth noting that it's possible to rack up over 60 species of wild bird a
6 November 2012
Merlin and other birds
Merlin showed well this morning to the wardens while checking on the cattle. This shot was 'digi binned', that is taken through binoculars with a small digital camera. Other raptors included 3 Peregrine, Marsh Harrier, 3 Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparro
5 November 2012
Tens of Thousands and a Bullfinch.
A lovely day, loads of birds and loads of visitors making the most of the spectacle. No specific counts but the total bird count will be over 20,000. With such a concentration of birds the raptors are always present, if only to feed on carrion. Merlin aga
4 November 2012
Hitting the highs.
Another days spectacular viewing with 1000's of Pink-footed Geese coming and going on the reserve. The new swan feeding regime is working well with the first of the days feed occurring at 10:30 from the Swan Link Hide and 11am in front of the heated Raine
3 November 2012
Wilder
A wilder day weather wise with a chilly wind than of late plus some heavy rain/hail showers late afternoon. Quite a few people around the reserve looking for the Firecrest but this roving bird gave most people the slip with only a couple of sightings on t
2 November 2012
Firecrest still present
Firecrest again along the Nature Trail feeding in Yews near the Kingfisher Hide. The bird is mobile so look for any flocks in the trees and undergrowth especially in Pines, Larches and Yews. A juv Pale -bellied Brent with 15,000+ Pink-footed Geese also Ba
1 November 2012
Green-winged Teal and more arrivals
A drake Green-winged Teal ( a female would be a tough call..) was found today during a count. The Green-winged Teal is a North American vagrant which turns up annually at Martin Mere. With 5,300 Eurasian Teal on the reserve it's quite possible that anothe
31 October 2012
Good for Geese
Another 10,000+ Pink-footed Geese day. No reports received but I bet there is a few unusual goose sp. tucked away in the flocks. Raptors have included Merlin, 3 Peregrine, Marsh Harrier, 2 Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. If you are visiting the r
30 October 2012
Starlings arriving
A good 5000+ Starling coming into roost in Pat's Reed Bed from the Reed Bed Walk or the Harrier Hide. Last year we had a brief peak flock of 30,000 coming in so the next few weeks will be interesting. A far calmer day and good for tomorrow too. At least 8
29 October 2012