Martin Mere

Juvenile lapwings

The other day I'd vowed that if I was going to Martin Mere this week it would be by bus so it was rather against my better judgement that I found myself getting the train from Oxford Road to Burscough Bridge. And I got there without incident. It was a bright, sunny day with a nice breeze that kept everything fresh and excellent walking weather.

By Red Cat Lane 

The rooks and jackdaws of Red Cat Lane made a racket while the woodpigeons, which easily outnumbered them two to one, quietly got on with rummaging about in the fields. As did a family of carrion crows. At the corner of Crabtree Lane a family of tree sparrows chirruped at each other from the telephone lines. I'd been worrying about them, it's a relief to see they're still about and in numbers. The clear blue sky had been conspicuously free of hirundines, there was a swarm of swallows and house martins over the farmyard on the corner of Curlew Lane. As I walked past a pair of ravens cronked high overhead.

It was my bad timing that had me walking down Fish Lane to the entrance of Martin Mere just as the tractor was turning over the hay by the roadside. The job has to be done and it's just my bad luck. My sneezing gave the rooks something to watch while they waited to dive in to see what was for dinner.

It's been an exciting time this week at Martin Mere with ospreys, bitterns, a pectoral sandpiper and a white-winged tern being seen on the reserve. I didn't see any of them but still had an excellent few hours' birdwatching.

Lapwings

Moorhen

Greylags

Cormorants, cattle egret, Canada geese and lapwings

Looking out on the mere from the Discovery Hide the most striking thing was the moult flocks of greylags and Canada geese. There was easily a hundred of each. And a couple of hundred lapwings at least. The black-headed gulls and starlings were in scores, the teal, mallard and black-tailed godwits in dozens. For once it looked like the moorhens outnumbered the coots. A tiny mallard ducklings nipped for midges at the water's edge. The white figures lined up with the loafing cormorants on the far bank were a couple of cattle egrets and there were more with the cattle in the field beyond. The lapwings and starlings were panicked by a buzzard that left its fencepost and flew across the mere.

Mallard duckling

Green sandpiper

My target birds for today were ruff and green sandpiper so I had a look in at the Raines Observatory and found a green sandpiper running along the bank in front of the windows and my first noisy party of birdwatchers of the day.

Walking to the Kingfisher Hide as was

Chiffchaffs squeaked, great tits muttered and robins sang as I walked down to the Kingfisher Hide as was. It was very quiet out there so I enjoyed the scenery. 

Barberries 

From the Ron Barker Hide

The Ron Barker Hide was busy with black-headed gulls, teal, greylags and Canada geese. A couple of pink-footed geese mingled with the Canada geese.

Greylags

I walked back, checking every ivy-clad tree for roosting owls and tiptoeing round a gang of mallards that weren't for shifting off the path.

Black-headed gulls

Moorhen and black-headed gulls

Lesser black-back

Lapwings and black-headed gulls

I had another look at the mere from the screens where the Swan Link Hide has been, finding plenty to see without adding to the day's tally.

A family of long-tailed tits bounced about in the elderberries by the path to the Janet Kear Hide where greenfinches, chaffinches and goldfinches vied for the feeders.

The Reedbed Walk 

Ruddy darter

The contrast between the shades paths of the old reserve and the wide open spaces of the reedbed walk was striking. As was the abundance of dragonflies, mostly common darters with strong support from Southern hawkers and brown hawkers and cameos by migrant hawkers and ruddy darters. Having so many dragons and no damsels is a late Summer sort of thing.

From the Rees Hide 

Black-headed gulls, lapwings and black-tailed godwits

Black-tailed godwits and black-headed gulls

The Rees Hide was busy with people and very busy with Canada geese, greylags, godwits and lapwings. As was the Gordon Taylor Hide with a supporting cast of teal, shovelers, little ringed plovers, a ruff, a green sandpiper and a snipe. Black-headed gulls wheeled about noisily overhead with swarms of swallows and house martins. On the way out a whitethroat churred at me from the drain.

Male stonechat

Female stonechat

For a change I went for the long walk to the Tomlinson Hide, passing more dragonflies and a pair of stonechats. It was lovely and quiet in the hide even when I was joined by another couple of birders. A dozen pink-feet hid in plain sight amongst the hundreds of Canada geese and scores of greylags. A flock of a dozen black-tailed godwits fed busily in the shallows. Southern hawkers and common darters zipped about the reeds in front of the hide and a brute of an emperor dragonfly flew directly across the water.

From the Tomlinson Hide 

Black-tailed godwits

Black-tailed godwit and Canada geese

Suddenly there was a burst of panic and hundreds of lapwings and scores of godwits took to the wing and all the black-headed gulls landed on the water. The waders reeled round and I tried to find the culprit. Eventually the clouds parted and I could see the peregrine powering past as the flocks closed and wheeled behind it. These are always opportunities for finding the waders you couldn't see on the ground, I was half-hoping yesterday's pectoral sandpiper might be in there somewhere. There were a green sandpiper and a couple of ruffs. And there, in amongst a crowd of lapwings, a neat, slim wader with a clean line between a finely-streaked breast and a bright white belly. For a moment I got giddy then realised it was "only" a wood sandpiper, a damned good find any time.

Horse mint

I checked the train times from New Lane as I took the long walk round the reedbed walk. Theoretically I could have climbed the gate onto the external path and caught the next train. I actually considered it before remembering that the joints aren't as supple as they could be and I'd be daft enough to sprain an ankle on the other side. Batman or Captain America would have made it an easy vault and they're both older than me so I've no excuse.

The Reedbed Walk

It was a quiet walk back through the reedbeds. I had a reminder of just how big brown hawkers are when a couple flew up to me, gave me the eyeball then chased each other round my head.

By Marsh Moss Road 

I walked to New Lane Station along a terrifyingly busy Marsh Moss Road. I've never seen it that busy before, I was having to stand on the drain side to let a dozen cars go by at a time. I've not walked it at kicking-out time before, next time I'll give myself the extra half hour for the meandering route via the reedbeds. 

I had five minutes' anxiety as the train home stopped just outside Ince Station but we were soon back on track and aside from an odd bit of business where we were all thrown off the 256 bus at White City because it was running 40 minutes late I got home without incident.