Martin Mere

Black-tailed godwit

A cold and frosty night turned into a bright, sunny and mild day. The morning's errands completed I got the train to New Lane and headed for Martin Mere.

Pink-footed geese 

It was just after noon when I got off the train at New Lane. I was greeted with the sight of fifty-odd pink-footed geese in a line across the field by the station. I made sure to check they were all pink-footed geese. The only little egret I saw all day sat in the corner of the field behind them.

I worried a bit about disturbing the geese as I walked down the path by the line but I was behind the hedgerow, the birds knew I was there and they'd have seen enough people walking their dogs for me to be okay so long as I kept walking. Sure enough, half the geese were on alert and kept an eye on me until I was well past their field but they all stayed put. Even when another couple of dozen geese flew in but didn't settle and flew off towards Martin Mere.

Walking by the railway

The mild and sunny day had brought out the songbirds. Woodpigeons, wrens, robins and goldfinches sang in the trees and bushes and there was a loud chattering of house sparrows and great tits in the hedgerows. Pied wagtails skittered about the wet fields, there were considerably more of them with the scores of starlings on the filtration pans in the water treatment works. Judging by the clouds of midges I was walking through there would have been good pickings for them. They were joined by a meadow pipit and a small flock of linnets flew over and settled on the ground nearby.

Pied wagtail 

Robins and stonechats fussed about in the brambles by the railway crossing and a charm of goldfinches was fossicking about in the dried grasses and burdocks. A kestrel hovered over the other end of the field. 

The Harrier Hide can be seen in the distance

I walked down to where the collapsed shed had been — I've lost a landmark now it's been tidied away — and had a look over the field beyond. The longhorn cattle were grazing but there was no sign of the cattle egrets I'd been hoping to see. A few crows, yes, but no egrets. Something moved in the corner of my eye so I turned and saw a pair of mallards swim away down the drain. Behind them something blue caught my eye. It was a kingfisher, lurking deep in the reeds. I turned back for another look for egrets. The pair of marsh harriers that had been frolicking in the long grass might have been the reason they weren't there.

Looking over to the railway

As I joined the path around the reedbed boundary I had another look back at the cattle, just in case. Crows. Magpies. A funny-looking crow on a fencepost… The penny was a long time dropping. I've been here, done this, got the t-shirt already. The glossy ibis was back for a return engagement.

The reedbed walk 

The walking was good to soft. Every so often the marshy pools in the wayside would overwhelm the path but they were shallow enough not to go over my boots. The hedgerows were quietly busy with blackbirds, robins and great tits. A family of long-tailed tits were nearly invisible in the depths of some hawthorns. Woodpigeons and magpies clattered about, jackdaws and black-headed gulls made a row as they passed overhead. The little path to the corner of the water treatment works has been fenced off for some reason. I only caught a short look at the chiffchaff I'd been hearing as I was approaching.

Oak apples

A pair of great spotted woodpeckers decided to play court in the tree just above my head just at the moment I was gripping the wire fence to the reserve's bird collections as I negotiated that particularly deep and tricky puddle on the path to the road. 

A party of tree fellers were chopping down the trees at the roadside and there was more felling work being done in the reserve.

The waterfowl were already gathering for a feed

Pochard

I headed straight to the Discovery Hide where, even though the swan feeding wasn't due for an hour yet the waterfowl were all assembling at this corner. There were plenty of whooper swans and greylags amongst the scores of mallards and wigeons and dozens of pintails, pochards, shelducks, tufted ducks and coots. It took me a while to find the ring-necked duck, then I glanced down to get my camera, looked back up, and not only couldn't I find the ring-necked duck again, I couldn't find the six tufted ducks I was using as a reference point for finding it. 

Whoopers, mallards, wigeons, pochards and pintails
This time of year, when I'm staring into the sun at the Discovery Hide, I miss the old Swan Link Hide which faced Northwest.

Cormorants dried their wings on distant islands, black-headed gulls made a racket, a great black-back cruised about on the water. That might have been why the lapwings were being so skittish. Every so often they'd have a panic, spook the starlings, black-tailed godwits and ruffs feeding on the far bank, wheel about a couple of times then settle back where they were. Something had been going on earlier because there was a corpse of a something that a lesser black-back and a couple of carrion crows were jostling over in the far corner. Behind them another crow was picking a fight with a great white egret over something in a drain.

Whooper cygnet starting to show adult colouring

During one of the lapwing panics a dozen black-tailed godwits peeled off the flock and settled down in front of the hide. They spent more time quarrelling with each other than feeding.

Mallard and black-tailed godwit

Pintail

Black-tailed godwits 

Whoopers and mallards

Whoopers and mallards

Pintails, mallards and wigeons

It was a pleasant walk down to the Rob Barker Hide though a bit quiet of birds. A few chaffinches and great tits tried to squeeze past the woodpigeons monopolising the bird feeders by the snowdrops. Great tits, robins and blue tits fidgeted about in the trees. More jackdaws and black-headed gulls flew overhead. The feeders in the hedgerows just before the Ron Barker Hide were busy with greenfinches and chaffinches.

Snowdrops

From the Ron Barker Hide 

The Ron Barker Hide was very busy, it wasn't just me taking advantage of the sun, so I didn't stay long. A gaggle of greylags grazed the bank in front of the hide, Canada geese grazed by the pool to the right. I had distant views of three female-type marsh harriers and a buzzard sat on a distant fencepost before I left. It wasn't really the crowded hide that made me leave, I needed to go and sit on a bench and stretch my leg, the knee was feeling the effects of negotiating that deep puddle. It's not something you can really do in a busy hide.

Greylags

Walking back past the snowdrops 

On the walk back it occured to me that I was exhausted. I'm not doing enough walking lately and my stamina's not what it should be. I decided to call it quits and walk over to Burscough Bridge for the train home. I hadn't added cattle egrets to the year list but had added whooper swan, glossy ibis and ring-necked duck.

Martin Mere, by the visitor centre 

As I crossed the road from Martin Mere the tree fellers were still at work but had moved along a hundred yards or so. A small flock of black-headed gulls were feeding on the ground that had been disturbed. And also a cattle egret. I laughed out loud, which understandably disturbed the egret and it flew over to join the sheep further up the field.

Along Tarlscough Lane

I was treated to some glorious skies as I walked to Burscough Bridge. Ahead of me in the distance Winter Hill was a medley of pinks and greys, the fields by the roadside were emerald greens and golds. A covey of partridges bustling about in one of the paddocks were unidentifiable silhouettes until one flew up onto the lower rail of the fence and the setting sun caught the orange of its tail and told me they were grey partridges.

Along Red Cat Lane 

Just as you get into town there's a fallow field surrounded by hawthorn hedges. The cattle egrets  I hadn't been seeing at Martin Mere were on there.

Cattle egrets

I checked the day's tally on the train home. It came to 71 species. I didn't feel so bad about feeling so tired.

Red Cat Lane