Latest Sightings
With the warm weather continuing, the wildlife of Martin Mere is as exciting as ever.
Over the weekend, a juvenile Cuckoo was seen from the Ron Barker hide, along with two Hobbies, Kingfishers, and even a Spoonbill – an infrequent and bizarre-looking visitor to the site. Stonechats continue to show atop the fences and foliage, and there is often a large flock of Goldfinch near the bridge in front of the hide. Seven Ruff were also reported from this hide.
Down at Woodend Marsh, from the Gordon Taylor hide, Green and Common Sandpipers have been seen, and two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were sighted. This can also be a good spot to watch for hunting Marsh Harriers flying over the marsh – at least three were seen here on Saturday.
At the Mere, our herd of English Longhorn cattle continue to be accompanied by the resident Cattle Egrets, and a large flock of several hundred Greylag Geese are often ranging between the Mere and Harrier Hide. This is in addition to a similar number of Canada Geese and even a Barnacle Goose!
The Janet Kear hide is a fantastic place to view the typical (yet still fantastic) ‘garden birds’ such as Blue and Great Tit, Chaffinch and Robin, but has also been providing more interesting sightings - on Saturday, a pair of Blackcap were spotted here. An unusual visitor has also been seen on the path between here and Gladstone Hide – a female Indian Peafowl. This is a locally feral bird from captivity, but is still lovely to see - Peacocks are the male of this species.
Across the whole site, birds such as Tufted Duck, Grey Heron and Snipe are being frequently seen, and there’s always the chance of a mammal such as a Weasel or Stoat crossing your path, both of which have been spotted within the past few days.
Image of a young Cuckoo being fed by a surrogate parent.
