Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 13th December 2011

Day Out to Martin Mere WWT 13th December 2011

The birding group usually occupies our Tuesdays but last week was the last group-day before Christmas so we were keen to get out for a day birding before the demands of Christmas got too pressing and before the bad weather set in. We fancied going up to Martin Mere WWT – a regular haunt of ours but the television weather forecasts were pretty ominous with snow and storms predicted. However, Monday had been quite nice in Manchester despite forecasts so we weren’t convinced. A quick look on the internet for a more detailed forecast indicated that it might be worth the risk so we decided to wait until morning and look out the window before deciding – the scientific approach. As it happened the morning was cold but sunny so we set off and we were glad that we did because we saw some awesome bird behavior as well as some fine birds and a life first for us.

We started off  with a quick look in the Raines Observatory hide where we saw large numbers of Whooper Swans, Greylag Geese, Lapwings, Pochards and Teal. There were smaller numbers of Coots, Shelduck, Pintails, Mallards and Cormorants. There were some Pink-footed Geese but the larger numbers were probably already out in the fields.

We decided that it would be best to go straight down to the Ron Barker Hide after Raines where, according to the Martin Mere blog, birds of prey had been showing well and also a Grey Phalarope had been seen on and off !  We started off downstairs where we could see around 300 Pink-footed Geese, some Moorhens and we had good views of two Little Grebes fishing. When we went upstairs, however, there were a few birders well ensconced up there who pointed out to us two Peregrines on a strip of land not too far aware. They appeared just to be passing the time of day and may just have been hunkering down to protect themselves from the bitter wind (and some brief hail) that had been whipped up. As we watched these we had the Grey Phalarope pointed out to us and right at the very back of the site, just at the edge of the reed bed, it could be seen bobbing its head up and down manically with it’s thick eye stripe clearly visible. This was a big highlight for us as it was a first but most of the action was from the Marsh Harriers. We watched three of them hovering against the strong winds as they quartered the reed beds over and over occasionally dropping down to the ground only to reappear a little distance away and soaring back up to get an overview before descending again . We also saw a Raven and there were some Ruff there as well apparently but I didn’t see the Ruff myself.

We moved on and returned back down the path past the feeding stations where we saw Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinches in good numbers as well as Tree Sparrows, Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons, Robins and Pheasant.

We next stopped off at the Hale Hide where we saw a single Ruff. It may have been a modest sighting but it was so close that the view of the patterning on its back was wonderful. Again there were large numbers of Whooper Swans and lots of Greylag Geese, Teal and Pintail.  We also saw a pair of Pied Wagtails and there was a large flock of Lapwings wheeling around nervously – presumably because of the large number of predators flying around.

We returned to the visitor centre for a cup of tea as the weather had been getting a bit bitter. By the time we had finished the weather had largely blown over leaving just a bit of a cold wind. We headed off down the avenue to the United Utilities hide where we saw a big mixed flock of Lapwing, Starling and Ruff with a couple of Golden Plover mixed in. There were also a fair number of Pink-footed Geese and we also saw a few Cormorants from there. You get a side-on view of the main Mere from here so in the distance were large numbers of Whooper Swans, though it has to be said that we have seen very many more there at this time of year previously, and also large numbers of Shelduck. Our time at this hide was however – like our day in general – dominated by birds of prey as we watched three Marsh Harriers and two Peregrine Falcons hunting above the fields and reeds. One of the Harriers came so close to the hide that we got tremendous views of it as it and a Raven who was bothering it soared on the wind and were buffeted. At times they seemed to be nearly stationary as they angled themselves against the wind. In the distance two Peregrines hunted and again we had great views. It was hard to say exactly how many Marsh Harriers and Peregrines there actually were on the site as a whole. Everywhere on the site we went we saw them. All the other birds seemed to be hunkered down against the strong winds but the birds of prey thrived onit.

We dropped in at the Harrier hide where – no surprise by now – we again saw a Marsh Harrier and the usual (for this hide) large numbers of Teal, Coot, Pochard and some Tufted Ducks and some Pintail. The afternoon was wearing on and with it getting dark early we decided we needed to press on so we stopped very briefly at the Janet Keir hide where the feeders were full of the usual Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch, Great and Glue tits and Robins but a nice touch was the presence of a good number of Reed Buntings looking very striking in their winter plumage. As usual under the feeders there were Pheasant and Moorhen. In the fields behind there were Crows and Jackdaws but the wind had reduced the Wood Pigeons to hiding in the trees rather than dominating the feeders.

We finished off by dropping in at the Swanlink Hide where, naturally, the larger numbers of Whooper Swans were. Again it was noticeable that numbers seemed down on previous years. I look forward to reading the actual figures later in the season. Yet again there was a Marsh Harrier showing well and the usual suspects were there in good numbers including Mallard, Coot, Pintail, Cormorant, Shelduck, Greylag Geese, Teal and Lapwing. Naturally there were also numbers of Black-headed Gulls.

As the light was starting to disappear we thought we had better be getting off but we dropped in at the “In Focus” shop briefly and as we were looking out over that corner  of the Mere, as if to complete a day dominated by birds of prey, a Kestrel hovered just above the window giving us the closest view ever of this impressive bird.

We drove home with the light fading and, just as we were saying that the only thing we hadn’t seen that day was a Buzzard, just by the roadside on a telegraph wire (unusually) there perched a Buzzard and in the distance a small murmuration of Starlings swooped around looking for more companions to roost with for the night.

All in all a fantastic day. We were quite surprised at how few visitors there were at the reserve – perhaps the lowest number of people we have ever seen. The weather forecasts no doubt kept a lot of people away but we were very glad that we ignored the forecasts and went there anyway. The highlights were the numerous Marsh Harriers and Peregrines we saw and the Kestrel and Buzzard and also our “tick” for the day, the Grey Phalarope.

The sightings were  :

Bird Sightings : Raines’s Observatory

Bird Sightings : Ron Barker Hide

Bird Sightings : Martin Mere Environs

Bird Sightings : Hale Hide

Bird Sightings : United Utilities Hide

Bird Sightings : Harrier Hide

Bird Sightings : Janet Keir Hide

Bird Sightings : Swanlink Hide