Birding Group Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 26th June 2012

Birding Group Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 26th June 2012

This weeks birding day was at WWT Martin Mere. Unusually for us we started at the United Utilities hide first because there had been talk of a Barn Owl flying as late as 11am. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to see it but, as is often the case, we did get great views of the Marsh Harriers and some nice views of some of the years new arrivals.

There were quite a few Avocets but we could only see a few Avocet chicks. By far the greatest number of chicks belonged to the Shelduck and a single creche held more than twenty of them. There were also large numbers of Lapwings and Lapwing chicks and where there are Lapwing chicks there are likely also Marsh Harriers. It is always hard to know how many you are counting but there were at least two visible at the same time. There were around 30 Greylag Geese and there were also Swallows and Swifts flying around the pools.

We moved on to the Harrier Hide and from there we saw a small flock of roosting Black-tailed Godwits and medium sized numbers of Mallard, Shelduck and Tufted Ducks. There were half a dozen Mute Swans and lots of Coots as well as a single Kestrel, a single Oystercatcher, a single Reed Bunting and a pair of Pochard.

At the Janet Keir hide there were Pheasants, Feral Pigeons and lots of Chaffinches and smaller numbers of Goldfinch and Greenfinch. There were the usual tits and a juvenile Robin. There were also some Blackbirds and Reed Buntings.

The Swanlink hide was much less busy than normal and again it was Shelduck who were the dominant species numerically. There were also Black-headed Gulls and Mallards, a couple of Avocets, a Shoveler and pleanty more Lapwing,  A couple of Teal and a couple of Starlings were also there and there were Swallows and, of course, Marsh Harrier.

We stopped for a bit of lunch and then headed off down to the Ron Barker hide but this was also a little quieter than usual. The remarkable thing is how overgrown everything is in the summer and it suggested to me that we really usually go to Martin Mere either early spring of autumn so we don’t often see it looking this way. At Ron Barker there were around twenty Black-tailed Godwits – although they may just have been the ones we saw at the Harrier hide earlier. Again lots of Shelduck. A single Whooper Swan – presumably unable to fly far enough to migrate. There were Avocets  but only three chicks as far as we could see. There was a single Shoveler and a pair of Oystercatchers. Again there were great views of Marsh Harriers and possibly also Buzzard. Perhaps the most unusual thing was the presence of four Pink-footed Geese ! Who knows why they were still there.

We returned back down the avenue but really the other hides were a bit short on both numbers and variety and the Green Sandpipers we had hoped to see weren’t showing at all.

All in all it was notable for the lack of numbers of birds and also for the overgrown appearance of the vegetation. But, of course, you can always rely on great views of Marsh Harriers and we certainly had those. Martin Mere always has something worth seeing and a visit is never disappointing. We had forty one sightings this day including a single Tree Sparrow on our way back down the avenue.

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : United Utilities Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Harrier Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Janet Keir Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Swanlink Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Ron Barker Hide