A couple of my friends wanted to visit here, so off we went.

Every year I usually give this reserve one visit at least - and every year I notice gradually fewer whooper swans and shoveler on the main mere. Whether it's just me when I visit days like this or that something else is going on.

Anyway, not managed an as thorough scout as I would normally but nice to finally start getting out again!

Highlights out of 44 species include......

Great spotted woodpecker
Reed bunting
Tree sparrow
2x black tailed godwits close
Ruffs
Stock dove close
Usual Shelducks
Wigeon
Pochard
Teal
Pintail
Lapwings
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Barn owl
Little egrets
Great black backed gull
Pink footed geese in their thousands and thousands near dusk


Ta!

A good solid birding day yesterday (21st August) clocked 58 species at Martin Mere and an additional 3(!) at Marshside. (Curlew, Oystercatcher and Common Gull)

Highlights were the flighty Long Billed Dowitcher (thanks to a kind lady who showed me through her scope in United Utilities Hide and apologies to my friends who didn't get their eyes to the scope before the bird flew!), large numbers of Black Tailed Godwit, several Snipe, at least 6 Greenshank with great elegance, 2 Knott, several Ruff, and 2 Green Sandpipers (Hale Hide).
A female Garganey was resolutely asleep from Ron Barker Hide, and the long staying Whooper Swan was also seen there. A Raven was seen over the car park.

Plenty of Swallows and House Martins and a single Swift.

A relative raptorfest included 2 Buzzard, 2 Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 2 Kestrel, Hobby and Sparrowhawk.

Day spent around here today:

Chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, reed warbler, sedge warbler, Cetti's warbler, tree sparrow, sand martin, house martin, swallow (though few of each; only one swallow), white wagtail, skylark
25+ teal
25+ gadwall
15 shoveler
4 wigeon
1 pintail (a female with a broken wing; seen her here before)
12 tufted duck
6 pochard (4 m 2 f)
c200 shelduck
6 whooper swan
1 mute swan
2 little ringed plover
60+ lapwing
12 ruff
3 redshank
17+ black-tailed godwit
40+ avocet
c20 oystercatcher
2 curlew
2 Mediterranean gull
2 great black-backed gull
1 kestrel
4 buzzard

Walk from Burscough Bridge rail:

3 blackcap
1 whitethroat
4 tree sparrow
2 linnet
1 yellowhammer heard
3 corn bunting
6+ skylark
14+ rook (including occupied nests)
6 lapwing
5 whooper swan (presumably 5 of the 6 noted on the reserve later; 5 seen over from reedbed walk)
2 buzzard

called in for a couple of hours this morning. Very quiet. A Sand Martin through south was the highlight and possibly my earliest ever. Not a let of else of note - Avocets from Ron Barker Hide, Tree Sparrows around the reserve paths and a couple of Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits on the Mere. Very few Pink-footed geese or Whooper Swans now.

I must have missed you!

Similar birds but the Tree Sparrows were tucked in the bushes leading up to Kingfisher Hide

A trip to Martin mere was on my "to do" list.

Seen 51 species with several superb highlights including....

My suprise close experience with black tailed godwits - the closest I've physically been to them!! Also the ruffs were showing well too.

First thing in the morning I found 4 little egrets with 2 grey wagtails, and on my walkabouts a sparrowhawk flew past close (and again later), a peregrine was seen twice, a kestrel, buzzard, 2 snipes, reed bunting, pochards were in good numbers but pintails were in small numbers and I couldn't see any shovelers!!

A female goldeneye appeared out of nowhere at 2:30pm from under the water right in front of the discovery hide - it was just a shame the light was from the wrong direction!

I called it quits earlier than i wanted as I didn't want to risk over tiring myself after waking up too early in the morning. So, On my way back i found a flock of corn buntings and several local rooks too.

So overall a great day, and I guess I didn't do too bad either considering the thick cloud up until 2pm.

Ta!

Hi Gordon, that was my sighting yesterday. I had hoped to see the recent Hen Harrier but a Bittern was quite some compensation, even if it was a brief view. I had a nice day, managed 59 for the day including the walk to and from Burscough.

Wood End Marsh 15 Whooper Swans

Very blustery day spent round here today:

Sedge warbler, tree sparrow, sand martin, house martin, swallow
2 raven
1 kingfisher
150+ teal
20+ gadwall
5 shoveler
7 tufted duck
1 pochard
20+ shelduck
5 little grebe
1 great crested grebe
170+ lapwing
1 snipe
1 ruff
1 black-tailed godwit
1 little egret
8+ grey heron
1 or 2 great black-backed gull
1 sparrowhawk
1 buzzard

Little over the farmland on the walk from the station, with the following perhaps most notable:

1 chiffchaff
13 tree sparrow
1 corn bunting

10:00-16:00 with granddaughter enjoying activities with a bit of birding

Harrier hide at least 1 booming Bittern fem sparrowhawk hunting

In grounds at least 2 singing Chiffchaffs

Mere c 120 black tailed godwits
C 20 Whooper swans

Ron barker hide

2 Buzzards male Kestrel
Black tailed godwit c 60
Ruff 3
Avocet c 12

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 4th of April 2018 07:31:11 AM

Bitterns - 2 booming from the reed bed most days. 1 seen in flight from the Harrier Hide over the week end.

Lunchtime / early pm visit in brightening conditions. 1 x barn owl hunting along the fence line out on Vinsons Marsh. Avocets feeding from the pools in front of Ron Barker, also 3 x little egret from Kingfisher / Ron Barker and later 1 at United Utilities. Much tree sparrow activity in the nestboxes along the footpaths but the mere itself looking a lot quieter a scattering of whooper swans, a big huddle of black-tailed godwits on one of the islands and 2 x Mediterranean gulls on the small spit to the left of Raines Observatory. Just inside the collection area the first mallard brood I've seen this year, six ducklings.

On homeward journey a female sparrowhawk in unsuccessful pursuit of a woodpigeon through Parbold village.

 

-- Edited by Jeff Gorse on Friday 30th of March 2018 04:18:18 PM

12-3pm Today:
-422 Teal
-394 Wigeon
-390 Shelduck
-381 Pink-Footed Geese
-372 Lapwing
-298 Whooper Swan
-225 Black-Headed Gulls
-195 Greylag Geese
-159 Mallard
-133 Pintail
-88 Starling
-87 Ruff
-75 Canada Geese
-47 Moorhen
-41 Avocet
-38 Coot
-36 Woodpigeon
-33 Feral Pigeon
-32 Cormorant
-28 Tufted Duck
-17 Black-Tailed Godwit
-16 Robin (14 Singing)
-15 Pochard
-15 Tree Sparrow
-14 Chaffinch (6 Singing)
-13 Oystercatcher
-11 Goldfinch
-11 Jackdaw
-8 Blue Tit
-7 Pheasant
-6 Greenfinch
-6 Mute Swan
-6 Reed Bunting
-4 Blackbird
-4 Buzzard
-4 Little Egret
-4 Wren (3 Singing)
-3 Gadwall
-3 Great Tit
-3 Grey Heron
-3 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls
-2 Carrion Crow
-2 Long-Tailed Tit
-2 Magpie
-2 Marsh Harrier
-2 Song Thrush
-2 Sparrowhawk
-1 Collared Dove
-1 Pied Wagtail
-1 Shoveler

50 species seen

c200 Whooper Swan, 7 Rook and pair of Grey Partridge in fields opposite Martin Mere.

Bittern booming from the reedbed today

Yesterday 31st January 2018, a Bittern was seen from "Outer Reedbed Walk"

around 1 degree but blue sunny skies today at Martin Mere.

Kingfisher Hide:
Tree Sparrows x7
Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Chaffinch, Greenfinch (just one), Blackbird. Looked for this tree that is a regular roost for the tawny owl very carefully but could not spot it despite spending quite some time looking up around Kingfisher hide (upper and lower area). Is anyone able to describe the tree in more detail? (big ask i know!!).

Ron Barker Hide: Buzzard, Water Rail, Kestrel of note and regulars. No Kingfisher, Linnet or Egrets of any kind though this time.

Plenty of pink footed geese, quite a spectacle still, all three swans, Pintail, cormorants, Teal, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Song Thrush, 1 white farmyard looking goose, lapwing, Ruff.

-- Edited by Rene Griffiths on Sunday 7th of January 2018 04:18:44 PM

On Saturday I visited Martin Mere WWT for the first time in over 10 years!! Wow so much has changed. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised and didn't think that it felt so much like a theme park as I had done on my last visit. I was invited along by friends who are WWT members and for a change Carys & I had a day out there with them. Once away from the visitor centre and collection areas the hides were not too busy (apart from Swan Feed) and we really enjoyed it.

Highlights included a juvenile Greenland White-fronted Goose from United Utilities Hide, found by GM's own Rob Adderley, nice to say hi to Rob & Sonia. A Barn Owl showed at dusk to just three of us in Rob Barker Hide, always a fabulous sight. A Water Rail was seen earlier from the same hide, showing well in the closest ditch. Other good birds were two Kingfishers, a Peregrine, a few Golden Plovers in with distant Lapwings, a couple of Marsh Harriers, several Goldeneye, a large flock of 40 or so Fieldfares, several of which landed near Ron Barker Hide, Cetti's Warbler, Tree Sparrows, large numbers of Ruff, and of course the sight & sound of thousands of Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans. 65 species seen, we mustn't leave it as long to come back again!

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Monday 20th of November 2017 04:19:03 PM

Mid to late afternoon visit encompassing the vast starling murmuration from Harrier Hide. Other sightings :-

Pintail and shelduck in ambundant evidence on the Mere along with good numbers of teal, wigeon, mallard, greylag. Handful of shoveler and pochard and single goldeneye (f). Relatively low numbers of whooper swan, less than 20 during the afternoon with the bulk out foraging in the surrounding farmland no doubt. Large flocks of pink-footed geese on the marsh with even larger skeins coming in as dusk fell.

Lapwing, black-tailed godwit, snipe and ruff in good numbers, the latter including a very striking bird with a totally white head and breast foraging at the Raines Observatory.

The Janet Kear feeders very quiet save for the omnipresent rat brood. However Kingfisher Hide was busier with fieldfare and redwing in the surrounding trees and goldfinch, tree sparrow and chaffinch on the feeders.

Buzzard and kestrel seen over the Mere / along the entrance road.

Long billed dowitcher spotted around 13:20. Distant mostly roosting views from United Utilities Hide against the light for the next hour and then I left.

Day spent here today, mainly for the pink-footed goose extravaganza; not many seen in flight whilst walking from the train station (path from there still out of use, btw), but many thousands (10-12k?) on the reserve, frequently spooked and put up whilst blethering away to each other constantly, a lovely spectacle.

Best of the rest:

1 chiffchaff
4 Cetti's warbler heard, two on around a smallish pond (one on each side) as you enter from the farmland, and two on reed-bed walk.
c15 tree sparrow
1 kingfisher
10+ stock dove
1 water rail heard (reed-bed walk)
900+ teal
30+ gadwall
c25 shoveler
130+ wigeon
3 pintail
4 tufted duck
6 shelduck
12 whooper swan
4 mute swan
900+ lapwing
c30 ruff (including a stunning partially leucistic bird with a snow-white head and neck)
22 snipe
5 grey heron
1 great black-backed gull
1 kestrel
3+ buzzard
5 marsh harrier

Farmland from station to reserve:

3+ tree sparrow
7 linnet
1 reed bunting
12 corn bunting
7 meadow pipit
1 pied wagtail
1 grey wagtail
60+ skylark
3 jay
30+ rook
1 stock dove

Lunchtime / early afternoon visit in cloudy and breezy conditions before the rain. Lots of raptors recorded there of late - I picked up 2 marsh harriers and 4 buzzards (best viewed from Ron Barker or UU hides) and a kestrel over farmland from the Reedbed Walk.

Lots of greylag on the main mere and big build ups of pink-footed geese on the outer waters. Also good numbers of snipe, lapwing, ruff - largely out on the fields at present.

Goldfinch, tree sparrow, chaffinch and greenfinch competing with the mallards and rats on Janet Kear feeding station.

Wigeon, teal and pintail scattered amongst the mallard and greylag on the main mere - teal most abundant at present.

Visited last Sunday 16th:
Oystercatcher
Linnet x2
Buzzard
Kestrel
Tree Sparrows
Blue+Great+ long tailed tit
goldfinch
Chaffinch
the usuals

Spur of the moment visit on Sunday morning...

Cloudy, blustery day with a little drizzle.

My first hack around the new reed bed walk was rewarded with a flyover male cuckoo and charming Little Grebes. Reed buntings were still very vocal as were reed and sedge warblers.

The United Utilities hide affording views across Woodend Marsh gave up a pair of common terns, many black tailed godwits, avocets, swifts, house martins, etc. and was capped by a pair of SPOONBILL flying in. After an initial dive bomb welcome from the local lapwings the pair were allowed to settle. A Barn Owl was spotted hunting in the fields on the far side of the marsh. 11am, blustery and drizzle are not the BO's usual modus operandi and gives away hungry young mouths to feed. Numerous Tree Sparrows from the Kingfisher hide were the last tick on a 52 species day.

Day spent here today; absolutely belted it down on the walk to the reserve, and I was a hair-breadth away from giving it up as a bad job. Very glad I didn't. Highlights:

Station to reserve:

1 whitethroat
1 reed bunting
3 yellowhammer
12+ corn bunting
10+ house martin
3 pied wagtail
2 yellow wagtail
c10 skylark
4 rook
20+ stock dove
13 shelduck (in someone's garden)
c15 lapwing
1 oystercatcher
1 buzzard

Main reserve:

Goldcrest, chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, reed warbler, sedge warbler, Cetti's warbler, tree sparrow (lots), linnet, reed bunting (lots), swallow, house martin, skylark, song thrush, etc.
10+ swift
1 cuckoo
Moorhen and coot with broods.
1 teal
7 gadwall
3 shoveler
5 wigeon
1 pintail (female with damaged wing)
c15 tufted duck
5 pochard
79+ shelduck
3 mute swan
4+ little grebe
2 great crested grebe (one on nest)
1 ringed plover
30+ lapwing
1 little stint (first time I've seen one in spring plumage)
4 redshank
25 black-tailed godwit
14 avocet
5 oystercatcher (including one chick)
2 little egret
4 grey heron
1 little gull
300+ black-headed gull

Cracking day, with the new reedbed walk from the Harrier Hide an excellent addition (especially if you're partial to reed buntings; never seen so many outside a winter flock); spectacular views of the female cuckoo sat on a fence directly in front of the hide from here; very much the highlight. Fantastic day though it's been, I am, though, extremely glad to be out of my wet socks.

Worth noting, too, that if you're coming here by train, the path immediately from the station has been closed, so you now have to walk around the village to the level crossing; adds around 10-15 minutes to the walk.

-- Edited by Shannon Llewellyn on Monday 29th of May 2017 11:02:36 PM