Martin Mere

Lapwings and pintails 

It was a greyer, cooler morning as I set out for Martin Mere. I got the train to Burscough Bridge and walked down Red Cat Lane, rooks and jackdaws fussing in the trees at the station and the fields by the road. I suspect the activity in the rookery is the older birds putting their beach towels on their deckchairs.

By Red Cat Lane 

It was a fairly quiet walk otherwise. Woodpigeons and black-headed gulls flew to and fro. A skein of about forty pink-footed geese called as they flew overhead. House sparrows, starlings, goldfinches and collared doves fussed about farmsteads. It felt like the shuffling around in the wings between acts.

Pintail
A drake in eclipse plumage 

Arriving at Martin Mere I headed straight for the Discovery Hide as usual for a look over the mere. This, too, had a between times feel to it, very busy with birds but out on the water almost entirely shovelers and mallards. Handfuls of wigeons grazed the banks and not many more pintails dozed on islands or generally pottered about. All the drake pintails were in eclipse plumage, most the drake wigeons were starting to moult out of it, the shovelers had almost completed their moult and the only drake mallards that hadn't were immature birds playing catch-up. 

Lapwings and pintails 

A couple of hundred lapwings were being very skittish, possibly because maintenance work was going on over by the far bank. For the same reason the Canada geese, pink-footed geese and coots were all grazing in one corner. Four swallows called in and quickly moved on.

Lapwings, lesser black-back and mallards

I moved on to the Mere View Hide where the views were splendid but the birdlife underwhelming. A Cetti's warbler singing in the brambles in front of the hide was a consolation prize.

From the Mere View Hide 

The pools at the Ron Barker Hide were a stark contrast. On the left there was literally nothing on the pool, the pool on the right was heaving with teals and shovelers, and a great white egret stalked the drain in between. Way over to the right a couple of whooper swans grazed with some Canada geese. A couple of little egrets flew past. After yesterday's raptor bonanza just seeing the one marsh harrier was a bit of a letdown.

From the Ron Barker Hide 

As I walked back a couple of loosely-connected mix tit flocks fidgeted their way through the trees and hedges. One included a goldcrest having some singing practice. Jackdaws, black-headed gulls and woodpigeons passed overhead. Every so often a small skein of pink-feet would pass by. A couple of robins sang in the undergrowth.

Coots, Canada goose and pink-footed goose 

I had another look at the mere from the screens by the path. All the birds had moved to this side of the pool now, there was work being done with machinery over at the end by the Hale Hide.

From the Harrier Hide 
Mute swans, teals, mallards and gadwalls but you'll have to take my word for it.

I had a sense of having just missed something at the Harrier Hide. All the ducks — teals, mallards, gadwalls and shovelers, were sheltering by the banks under trees and tree roots with a couple of mute swans and some coots. The only birds out on the open water were four dabchicks and a couple of coots.

Female common darter 

After a cool lunchtime the afternoon had warmed up significantly. As I walked back migrant hawkers patrolled the hedgerows; large whites, red admirals and speckled woods fluttered about the wayside and common darters sunned themselves on notice boards along the path.

Male common darter

I walked round to New Lane for the train back to Manchester. It was a very quiet walk, save for the traffic on Marsh Moss Road. A stoat very sensibly waited for a quiet patch before crossing the road.