The week so far here on the reserve at Martin Mere has been bountiful with wildlife sightings.
1 Ring-Necked Duck male has been seen each day this week on the mere. This bird, which is a North American counterpart of our native Tufted Duck (and thus looks quite similar to it), originally arrived on site in December last year before disappearing in March and subsequently reappearing here again last month. 1 Peregrine flew across the mere yesterday in search of prey. Other birds seen on the mere recently include 3 Black-Tailed Godwits, 3 Ruff, 1 Great White Egret, 1 Little Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier females, 3 Buzzards, 1 Grey Heron, 9 Snipe, and 11 Cormorants, along with hundreds to thousands of our seasonal overwintering wildfowl, including Mallard, Pintail, Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon, Gadwall, Shelduck, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Whooper Swan, and Pink-Footed Geese.
At Janet Kear hide today, 1 Treecreeper, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Coal Tit, 20 Blue Tits, 30+ Goldfinch, and 8 Long-Tailed Tits were seen. Further up from Harrier hide, 1 Mistle Thrush, numerous Redwing, 18 Gadwall, and 1 Skylark were seen and heard.
On the Reedbed, 3 Kingfishers, 4 Water Rail, and 2 Reed Bunting were heard, along with more than 10 Cetti's Warblers. 1 Jay was also spotted in the willows.
At Rees hide, 1 Sparrowhawk male and 1 Kestrel female were seen.
2 Stonechats were observed from Ron Barker hide.
Photograph of a male Kingfisher.
