Marton Mere

White-winged black terns

Marton Mere's one of the many places I didn't get round to last year. Seeing a report of two (two!) white-winged black terns there first thing this morning decided me to head that way.

I got the train to Blackpool North and just missed the 61 bus that would have dropped me off at Paddock Drive and then a short walk into Marton Mere. The next bus was the 18, I got that to St Paul's Church, walked down Preston Old Road and joined the path into Marton Mere from Cornwall Place, half a mile's additional walk and quicker than waiting for the next 61.

Walking into Marton Mere 

This path took me into the West side of the reserve. The apple trees starting to set fruit amongst the hawthorns reminded me that a few Autumns ago I came here to watch a red-footed falcon amidst the background smell of cider and swarms of red admirals and hawker dragonflies. It wasn't that sort of day today, grey and mild and windy, the sort of day where the butterflies stay under cover and the year's dismal showing of dragonflies continues.

For all the grey and dull the chiffchaffs, blackcaps and a couple of willow warblers were in full song though outnumbered by song thrushes and all they outnumbered by Cetti's warblers. The Cetti's, as ever, offered tantalising glimpses of tops of heads and tail feathers disappearing into reeds.

Marton Mere

I had a sit down at the first Hide I came to to get the lay of the land. The reeds in front of the hide were seething with Cetti's warblers, reed buntings and song thrushes. At first glance there was little on the open water except for a mute swan and a fishing cormorant. A scan with the binoculars immediately established there was a swarm of swifts over the mere. It took me a while to find the swallows and house martins in the mix. It took next to no time to notice the couple of white-winged black terns zipping about with them.

White-winged black tern

White-winged black terns

White-winged black terns

Both terns showed brilliantly well, though they kept their distance. One bird was definitely an adult, black body and solidly silver white wings and tail. The other looked to have a few dusky patches on the wing coverts and may have been a subadult.

I managed to get one of the swifts in shot

The terns were a bit closer to the next hide along but largely hidden by reeds as they skimmed about just above the water.

Marton Mere 

Job done I had a potter about. Herring gulls and black-headed gulls fussed about the mere and a common tern paid it a fleeting visit. A couple of greylags called from the edge of the reedbed, a Canada goose looked to be sitting on a nest and the "What's that with those mallards in the corner?" turned out to be a drake gadwall. There was a bit of a twittering panic amongst the martins and swallows as a kestrel flew by. For all the extensive reedbeds there was an absence of reed warblers though a sedge warbler in one corner was trying to sing for a regiment. I finally started hearing reed warblers as the path neared the holiday village.

Main Dyke

I walked through the holiday village and got the 61 back to Blackpool North Station. I'd had a good birdwatching walk and it was nice to have had a long look a white-winged black terns, my first one last year was a youngster only offering fleeting views. I'd got myself an old man's explorer ticket so I took a meandering route home. When I got home the back garden was littered with baby blue tits. Which was nice.