Martin Mere

Pochard

Looking at the weather forecast, if I was getting to Martin Mere this week it would be best doing it today. It was a lovely day and managed to stay that way all day.

The trains behaved all the way to my stop at Burscough Bridge. Along the way I was seeing more woodpigeons than I had done on this route last week, just ones and twos at a time but fairly regularly. It was mostly black-headed gulls — scores of them — on the damp fields of West Lancashire and the few large gulls were all herring gulls. And it was nice to see a small raft of tufted ducks on the lake at Pemberton Park.

By Red Cat Lane

It was cool and sunny, very nice walking weather though the cold breeze wasn't for mucking about and went straight to the gusset. I was glad I hadn't had that second cup of tea. Jackdaws bounced about the rooftops and blue tits, robins and blackbirds fidgeted about in gardens.

Stock doves, black-headed gulls and common gulls

Rooks and woodpigeons fossicked about in the stubble field South of Red Cat Lane. The field to the North had been sown for Winter barley. Black-headed gulls, woodpigeons, stock doves and common gulls were dotted about and a group of them were having a communal bath in a large puddle. Way over the other side, within easy running distance of the hedgerow, a covey of red-legged partridges rummaged about in the furrows.

Approaching Crabtree Lane I kept hearing fieldfares but was only seeing blackbirds in the trees. I finally found one — just the one, again — in a hawthorn in the garden of the house on the corner.

The field of Winter barley next to Brandeth Barn had a few dozen loafing lapwings laid out in a rectangular grid about three yards apart. I can't imagine why other than because they could.

Mallards

Arriving at Martin Mere I went straight to the Discovery Hide. The mere was chock-a-block, mostly with mallards at this corner. The shelducks were back with a vengeance, the sheldrakes battling for the attentions of the ducks. There weren't a lot of whooper swans, a few dozen, and a similar number of wigeon but there are many square miles of damp Lancastrian fields for them to be grazing. I suppose the same can be said for greylags, they were very thin on the ground at Leighton Moss yesterday, there were none at all on the mere today. A mute swan and cygnet cruised about midwater. 

The testosterone was high in the mallards

Mallard

Whooper cygnet

Whooper and pochard

Wigeons, mallards, shelducks and wigeons

The supporting cast was made up of black-headed gulls, pochards, tufted ducks and pintails, cormorants loafing on the islands and the flocks of a hundred or so each of lapwings and starlings over on the far bank. Every so often the lapwings and starlings would rise and swirl in a panic and most of the time I'd look in vain for the cause. One time it was because a lapwing had flown in and landed clumsily, barging into a couple of loafing lapwings and this became a panic. Another time the starlings noticed that a kestrel had been hovering overhead for the past ten minutes. A ruff joined in that excitement, the only one I saw today.

Mostly mallards 

Sheldrake and shelduck 

Whooper swan and swansdown 

The sheldrakes were being a bit combative 

Mallards, wigeons, lapwings and a black-tailed godwits which I overlooked until I reviewed the day's photos.

Whoopers and pochards

Black-headed gulls 

Way over in the fields beyond the mere a small flock of pink-footed geese were feeding for a while before setting off for the farmland between here and Southport. The white objects left behind were a handful of cattle egrets which skittered about like clockwork. Closer by a great white egret hunted in the field by the far corner of the mere while a heron dozed on the bank further in.

The feeders by the Raines Observatory were busy with great tits and chaffinches. The colony of tree sparrows that nested in the boxes here and by the Kingfisher Hide as was is a thing of the past, sadly.

Wood blewit

Walking to the Ron Barker Hide 

Small mixed tit flocks bounced through the trees along the path to the Ron Barker Hide. Jackdaws called in the trees by the road and woodpigeons passed overhead.

From the Ron Barker Hide 

At first sight the marshes at the Ron Barker Hide were deserted. A few dozen wigeons dozed on the far side of the pool on the right. It was easy to not notice the dozens of teal on Vinsons Marsh to the left, even though the willow scrub that sprang up over the Summer has been removed there's still plenty of cover for them. It only really became apparent how many ducks there were here when a female marsh harrier flew low over and they all rose up in a panic. A more low key panic ensued when she was joined a little later by an immature bird and they both floated off over the reedbeds. A couple of little egrets shrimped in the brook, a couple of cattle egrets flew by and headed towards Windmill Farm. A dabchick was busy fishing in the sluice in front of the hide, spending more time under the water than above. The five Canada geese I could see in the tall grass over to the side were the only ones I've seen for nearly a week.

To the Mere View Hide 

Walking back I had a look at the Mere View Hide (which used to be the Kingfisher Hide). The views were splendid and a handful of greylags flew past.

From the Mere View Hide 

I walked round to the Janet Kear Hide, having another look at the mere from the screens as I was passing and noticing that some more wigeons had joined the crowds of ducks. The feeders at the Janet Kear Hide were busy with blue tits, great tits, goldfinches and chaffinches and moorhens lurked in the pool under the feeders ready to catch any falling seed.

It was quiet at the United Utilities Hide. About a hundred lapwings loafed on the field with a few dozen pink-feet and a similar number of black-headed gulls.

The collared earthstars had lost their collars

From the Harrier Hide 

I wandered round to the Harrier Hide where it was evidently nap time for the mute swans and black-headed gulls.

Lapwings

It was time to leave if I was to get the train back to Manchester from New Lane. I didn't have time to go the long way round so walked up a very busy Marsh Moss Road to the station, passing a little egret fossicking about in the land drains along the way.

I kept my nose pressed up to the window as I looked for owls in the failing light and giving it up at Bolton. The trackside eagle owls in their aviary don't count.

Martin Mere