WWT Martin Mere : 9th March 2014

Ruff in Breeding Plumage, Martin Mere

WWT Martin Mere : 9th March 2014

On a lovely Sunday morning we decided to drive up to WWT Martin Mere. I had been reading lately that there was a male Ruff there in nearly full breeding plumage and I really wanted to this quite rare event – rare especially in the north of England. We had an early and pleasant truck-less drive up there and were ready for our cup of tea before setting out for the hides. As it happened they had lost all their electricity and the place was plunged into darkness. Well at least the hides didn’t depend on electricity so we immediately went out in search of our Ruff.
We popped in to the In Focus shop and asked Andy Bunting where the best spot was to look for it and he said that it was quite often on the Mere and could be seen from either the Swanlink hide or the Raines Observatory. On the grounds that we usually see the Ruffs quite closely from Raines we headed off there first.

There were reasonable numbers of Whooper Swan, Wigeon and Mallard and smaller numbers of Pintail, Shelduck and Teal. At the back we could make out a few Pink-footed Geese and quite a large number of Cormorants drying out in the sun but no Ruff. Still we weren’t too bothered so we headed off to the Ron Barker hide stopping off briefly on the path for Tree Sparrows and Long-tailed Tits and at the Kingfisher hide for Wrens. Up at Ron Barker it was more of the same with greater numbers of Pink-footed Geese. In the paddock to the right of the hide we spotted a pair of Red-legged Partridge – a first for the year – and quite a few Pheasant. There were large numbers of Avocets – I counted sixty-five – and a few Oystercatchers. Unusually, however, no Harriers. We did see a couple of Ringed Plovers – also a first for the year.

So it was back down the path for us over to the Swanlink hide where there were plenty of Whooper Swans and Greylag Geese and around thirty Black-tailed Godwits but still no Ruff ! At Janet Keir there were the usual suspects, the nicest being the Reed Buntings and Greenfinches. The Harrier Hide was all Canada Goose. Shelduck and Wigeon with a smattering of Tufted Ducks and a pair of Oystercatchers.

Surely, we thought, we would get something interesting at the United Utilities Hide but the best we got was a fair view of a Raven passing over the hide and across to the reserve buildings. We also got a couple of Buzzards but, again, ho Harriers.

We headed back to the reception but there was still no food or drink available so we drove off to a local pub around the corner from Martin Mere and had a nice drink and a spot of lunch on the banks of the canal and in the sunshine. By this time it was getting on in the afternoon but with the afternoons longer by now and it being a relatively traffic free Sunday we decided to go back once more and look for the Ruffs. This time we went first to the Swanlink Hide and from here we could see over by the Rained Observatory a few Ruff mooching around there. We had been told earlier that they sometimes come in at Swan feeding time and by now it was about 3pm.

We rushed over to Raines and along the spit of land out in the front we could see a group of Ruff but not the showy male. A conversation started about them and one of the site volunteers told us to look a bit further back from where the main group were and there it was in all its glory. I managed to get it in the scope and had a good view. I started to get my scope camera adapter out but by the time I did this and looked up – it had gone !!
We rushed back to the Swanlink Hide to see if they were there and eventually we found them and the male was amongst them. Bit by bit it walked along the spit with the wooden post on and came towards the far side of the hide affording us better views than we had had before. It was even quite clear with the naked eye – if still further away that we would have liked.

We spent at least half an hour watching the bird interact with the other Ruffs and it will be interesting to see if it is going to remain and try to breed this Spring. I can’t see why it would get into its breeding plumage before migration so it will be worth returning in a couple of weeks.

By this time it was gone 4pm and we had been six hours at the site which had been a reasonable success. We had seen our target bird and got Raven and Ringed Plover as year ticks and had seen 42 species in all !

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Raines Observatory

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Ron Barker Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Environs

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Swanlink Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Janet Keir Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : Harrier Hide

Bird Sightings : WWT Martin Mere : United Utilities Hide