Decided to come here for our annual trip on Sunday, highlights included:

Whooper Swan

Pink Footed Geese

Red Breasted Goose

Pintail

Teal

Wigeon

Shelduck

Black Tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Little Egret

Great White Egret

14 Cattle Egret

4 Marsh Harrier

4 Buzzard

Cetti's Warbler

The Red-breasted Goose was far less active during our visit today, spending most of its' time asleep on one of the larger islands in the Mere. The liveliest it got was when a Lapwing seemed to peck it in the rump! The two in the enclosure with the Flamingos were far more active. Only two snipe in front of the screens but nice and close for the photographers. Apart from a single Godwit they were the only waders we could find on the Mere other than the Lapwings. Problems with the trains cut into our time so a short visit to the Janet Kear Hide and a lunch stop in the Harrier Hide (with one Cattle Egret visible among the distant herd) were all we had time for before heading off to Marshside for the afternoon. A couple of Grey Partidge in the field opposite the car park entrance were nice to see.

 

 

A visit for a few hours last week and the highlight of the day was the ringtail Hen Harrier which showed last week on a number of days.  It was my 4th Hen Harrier here since 2011 and I have only visited a few times a year whilst for a site regular it was his first.  He spotted it first.   Only managed 3 more birds of prey - Kestrel Buzzard and Marsh Harriers including 2 winged tagged ones from Norfolk and Suffolk.  Someone needs to tell them East Anglia is warmer than Lancashire.  I usually get 5 birds of prey quite easily here.  Other highlights were at least 16 Cattle Egret although 22 have been reported which must be one of the highest counts this far North.  4 Great White Egrets was a high Lancashire count for me away from Marshside and Leighton Moss.  Bittern was reported a few days before my visit and a Purple Heron on the day of my visit and before.  One was present last year.  Brenda from Bristol might say "oh not not another one!"   

Lots of Snipe and Lapwing and a Green Sandpiper but no other waders.   Lots of waterfowl and the Whooper Swans are returning.  

Not been for ages. Good to see old In focus building being used for logging sightings and good views of the mere.

A few highlights.

Greenshank 3
Green Sandpiper 1
Ruff 6+
Black-tailed Godwit 6+
Snipe 8
Little Egret 2
Cattle Egret 2
Hobby 1
Buzzard 2
Marsh Harrier 1
Kestrel 1
Shelduck 1
Pochard 1 male.
Yellow Wagtail 1
Tree Sparrow 2...Just 1 heard, along left from the gate on the Ron Barker Hide path. A lot of tweeting, so probably at least 2 but area not accessible.
etc.etc.etc.

50 species.

Had a trip out and was itching to especially see the Pectoral sandpiper, only ever seen once before in 2014.... but at a distance.
43 species seen and nice to explore the new extended trails and hides, long overdue.

So, my first task was to see the Pectoral sandpiper, and after 20 minutes, i found it..... but, at a distance, further than the first view at Leighton Moss. Oh well, nice to add it to the year list anyway.

Other highlights include 4x Cattle egrets (the reported fifth must have been behind the island)
Snipe x2
Greenshank x2
Green sandpiper
Common sandpiper
Ruff
Dunlin (with the Pectoral and a good comparison too)
Black tailed godwit
Stock dove
Little grebe

This is the 2nd visit in a row where I could'nt find any Tree sparrows (the other in January), totally unheard of in my textbook (records going back to 2001). I used to go anytime of year and guarunteed to see them and they were in abundance too. But, over the last 10 years, ive noted a steady decline. I went to the Near-by Mere Sands Wood at 3pm and even on their sightings board; no Tree sparrow. Thanks to Mike's post, at least they are still about somewhere.

Ta!

30/05/2023 10.30 - 16.30 Mainly a meet up with mates from school on part of our old patch. Comparatively quiet but a good walk and variety of wildlife

53 species (of birds) between us. Not many raptors with only 1 Marsh Harrier seen, 1 Kestrel and a maximum of 5 Common Buzzards. Just missed the male Hobby. Lots of Lapwing (but not many chicks!) although the Avocets certainly had plenty. Otherwise just 1 distant Ringed Plover from the Ron Barker Hide. Shelduck seem to have done well, there were some Greylag goslings and a super-creche of around 30 Canada goslings crossing one of the muddy areas like a line of school children, with just two adults supervising while the rest of the parents got on with feeding. Common Terns were bringing in food to the small nesting group - despite the recent BTO report listing them as being a loss for my childhood postcode. Reed Warblers singing everywhere, around 6 Cetti's calling, a couple of Chiffchaffs, one Blackcap and just one, quite showy Sedge Warbler. Another birder had heard a warbler song he didn't recognise while he was in the United Utilities hide. According to an app on his phone, the best match was an Icterine Warbler! He didn't believe it either Best of the day were 2 Common Quail heard from the field behind Thompson hide, Tree Sparrows on the feeders at Kingfisher hide and a Cattle Egret among the Long-horn Cattle from Ron Barker hide.

Butterflies, moths, dragon- and damsel-flies, the odd interesting plant and a Brown Rat were among the 'Other Wildlife' sightings.

Park on main entrance. It is free and no obligation to use the reserve. Plus there are toilets.

Well signposted.

09:30-12

Stuck to the reedbed trail around the outside of the reserve...it's free.

Yellow Browed Warbler showed well by sewage works with at least 1 Siberian Chiffchaff. 

Also 3 Marsh Harrier, Corn Bunting, 6 Stonechat, 3 Common Snipe, 30 Meadow Pipit, 40 Whooper Swan, Fieldfare, 6 Redwing beyond sewage works towards Burscough Bridge.

No Purple Heron but:

Cattle Egret 2, even sat on cattle.
Little Egret 1
Marsh Harrier 5
Buzzard 3
Kestrel 4
Sparrowhawk 1
Green Sandpiper 3
Ruff 1
Snipe 15+
Whooper Swan 5 so far.
Wigeon 30+
Pintail 3
Pochard 6
Pinkfeet Geese
Common Gull 3
Cetti's Warbler 3 heard.
Stonechat 1 male.
Grey Wagtail 3
etc.etc.etc.

53 species.

Monday 27th June 10am - 2:30 pm

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti)
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Coot (Fulica atra)
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica)
Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Great Tit (Parus major)
Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Greylag Goose (Anser anser)
House Martin (Delichon urbicum)
Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
Linnet (Linaria cannabina)
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Magpie (Pica pica)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)
Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Swift (Apus apus)
Teal (Anas crecca)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

I wanted somewhere to relax for my day off. (Original plans changed due to slow start of season)

56 species seen, Highlights include:

Corn bunting
Tree sparrow
Mediterranean gull
Common tern
Marsh harrier
Buzzard
Pochard
Wigeon
Little grebe
Reed warbler
Sedge warbler
Skylark
Avocet
Ruff

Ta!

I cut my visit short as my head wasn't feeling great.

Visit on 05/04/22  56 species seen including

 

1 male Garganey

2 Marsh Harrier

30+ Avocet

20+ Black Tailed Godwit

1 Ruff

2 Great Crested Grebe

This was to be the only day this free week that I can get out for the day - largely due to the weather forcast! Hence, Martin mere was the best option, and proved to be the correct one too.

With 56 species seen- Highlights include:

Brambling showed very well, with at least x4 individuals confirmed, likely more.
Black tailed godwits proved to be showing off too, wonderful to watch the squabbling dramas between them with 2 in summer plumage already!
Great spotted woodpecker x2 in a brief argument at the main feeders.
Avocet x12 were a surprise, though these were distant at the back of the mere.

I stumbled across a Chiffchaff, and while to me, a Chiffchaff is a Chiffchaff wherever it's from, but the Collins book app in saying how different the Siberian Chiffchaff is especially by it's song, so I thought I'd at least make some effort to find it again to see if it was the Siberian bird and confirmed it I did. There are also several Common Chiffchaff present too.

Other Highlights include:

Tree sparrow
Great white egret
Marsh harrier x3
Buzzard
Little grebe
Pochard
Pintail
Wigeon
Great black backed gull x2
Lesser black backed gull x1
Oystercatcher
Ruff
Stock dove

A good day after almost 700 pictures to sort through too, and the first batch I've had this year too besides the Water pipit last month.

Ta!

-- Edited by Richard Thew on Wednesday 16th of February 2022 08:20:11 AM

A last minute decision to go this morning based on the weather turned into an enjoyable few hours. It was notable the dearth of birders on site, whether that is due to Coronavirus or something else I don't know, but to be sat alone in the Ron Barker hide for 2/3 hours is not something I expected. Anyway, the highlights of todays sightings were:

Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Common Buzzard, Ruff - including a stunning white headed bird, Great White Egret, usual excellent numbers of wildfowl but sadly no sign of the Green-winged teal from earlier in the week despite lots of scrutiny of the teal flocks.

First time visit today - very nice. 59 species highlights being Marsh Harrier, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Cettis Warbler & Marsh Tit as well as the expected Whooper Swan and other waterfowl.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 23rd of October 2021 10:17:25 PM

 

 

I visited just over a month ago and managed to see a Cuckoo, potentially breeding Marsh Harriers which may have been confirmed by now I think and Mediterranean Gulls.   A Pochard with quite large young of course must be a major success as they are in quite serious decline.  Banded Demoiselle in the brook was a first in Lancashire for me.  I have only ever seen this species in Kent.   I could not help but think that large pockets of the reedbed seem to have considerable willow scrub in.  I wonder if this is the reason why Bitterns aren't breeding yet in which is said to be Lancashire's second biggest reedbed now.  

Hi David
The Eider you saw on the Wyre were wild. There are a few in the region in winter, don't know if they breed this far South (Walney perhaps?)

The ones at Martin Mere are captive, even if they move around a little. They've likely got clipped wing feathers to prevent them from flying, but even if they haven't then they won't be inclined to move away from where they get fed

Eider are a sea duck, rarely naturally seen inland, and breed further North. They naturally eat crustaceans and molluscs, not sure what they give them at MM

Hi David,
there are a few important factors to consider here so that your question isn?t misinterpreted or that what you stated alongside the original question isn?t overlooked.

There are many rare and ornamental species at M.M. that are obviously part of the reserve?s collection and wouldn?t count on any list, and you did say you wouldn?t count caged birds or birds on the visitor centre ponds.
The Eiders are always there and part of the collection Im sure.

But it must be taken into account that one of these could potentially fence hop onto the main reserve, and vice versa whereby a wild bird lands in the enclosures.
So based on what you said there is a risk of confusing a tickable with a non-tickable bird depending on where it was.

I remember a few years back at Slimbridge, I went to see the Black-winged Stilts, one of them apparently had landed in one of the enclosures, but as people rushed round to see it - it flew back onto the main reserve.
Food for thought!

 

 

Hi David,

 

Which species are you talking about?   Some of those that have "fence-hopped" or not even on the British List.  If a Flamingo managed to fly out onto the mere, would it become a wild bird?  It needed direct human intervention to end up at Martin Mere so not really a wild bird at all.  I doubt anyone would tick it.  What you put on your list is your personal choice but if you manage 700 species because of birds that have hopped over fences or escaped from captivity then that would be higher than the official British list which is about 600-620?

I was working in the Ormskirk area last week and stopped off for a few hours  on the way back.  The highlights were a Great White Egret, a Cuckoo calling and an Avocet right in front of the viewing screens.  2 laps around the reedbed produced lots of Warblers but no one giving itself up for a decent photo.  The Cuckoo was calling from the trees in the wildlife pens and visitor centre.     A few Common Terns were also present and a minimum of 3 Corn Buntings at the nearby Curlew Lane.  Sadly no Yellow Wagtails here.  

 

-- Edited by Sarfraz Hayat on Monday 17th of May 2021 09:47:02 PM

Question,...is it right to count birds at martin mere for  a year list if they are captive or semi captive?if they are out on the mere and environment i count  them,if they  are in cages or even on the ponds by visitor centre then i dont.      Your opinions please

-- Edited by David Hughes on Thursday 13th of May 2021 10:28:21 AM

 

I managed to visit on the 24th of December after visiting Mere Sands Wood and the main highlights were a Great Egret - there may have been 2 present, Cetti's Warbler and at least 4 Little Egret.  Oystercatcher and Curlew present too.  It was a nice visit with all the expected species.  Strange to think in Lancashire I have seen Great Egret, Little Egret, Cetti's Warbler and Mediterranean Gull (seen at Mere Sands Wood) on a cold winters day!  

Great Egrets are becoming more regular here and almost resident it seems. 

On the WWT blog it says Martin Mere had 2 Common Cranes and 2 Snow Geese to this year.   Also 16 pairs of Cetti's Warblers too.  Mediterranean Gull and Marsh Harrier bred at Martin Mere too in 2020 - first time ever.  I remember Marsh Harriers tried to nest in 2012 but that really wet summer put a stop to that.  It must have been a successful nest then!

 

  

 

Hi Colin,

That is a good collection.  I wonder how many people have seen all 4 at Martin Mere?

 

Sarfraz

 

 

I was not far from the area so I booked for today.  To visit Martin Mere you do have book via the website.  I had very poor reception so I could not access my ticket and I had not brought my card.  The staff had a record of both and went straight through.  No issues at all.  The Wilsons Phalarope was showing at the Ron Barker hide 10 minutes after arrival.  It was seen there just after 9am by staff but had disappeared out of view probably behind an island.  Another birder present spotted it and pointed it out.  It looked obviously bigger than Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes I had seen.  It seemed to swim around and spin like Red-necked Phalaropes do.  I have only ever seen 1 Grey Phalarope and it was not much of a spinner.   This was a lifer for me.  

 

The last record of Wilsons Phalarope in Lancashire was at Alston Wetland near Longridge 3 years ago.  This is the 4th record at Martin Mere of this species and 2 have been almost exactly the same date!  I won't be surprised if this bird moved around a little at visited Lunt Meadows for a bit.  

I also heard Bearded Tits ping and some Migrant Hawker dragonflies.  

My first proper day out since February.

I heard good things about the way they have organised the reserve to keep everyone as safe as possible. Everything ran like clockwork.... and seen some 63 species. However, I think the alien's came the night before and abducted all the blackbirds as I never found a single one!

Highlights include:

2x Greenshanks were located after I could hear them calling, but distant.
A Cettis warbler was breifly seen. Another i found amusing as he was giving the occasional call right next to the path but well hidden in the dense grasses/short reeds.
A Hobby was seen distantly flying around at speed and caught something and are it in the air.
2x Kingfishers together. One (female) was displaying what could be an aggressive posture (pictured). It was interesting to watch them. She soon shooed him off.

Other highlights were......

Buzzard
Rook
Corn bunting
Red legged partridge (breifly)
Stock dove
Common sandpiper
Green sandpiper
Black tailed godwit
Snipe
Ruff
Great black backed gull
Willow tit
Chiffchaffs (a few on the fence)
Reed warbler
Meadow pipit
Little grebe
Pink footed goose x6
Shoveler
Teal
Pintail
Gadwall
Shelduck x4 juveniles

And to top it all, a small pot of custard to go with my cherry cake....

Ta!




-- Edited by Richard Thew on Monday 24th of August 2020 08:53:03 PM