A Couple of Birders Reborn – Martin Mere Revisited

I took a few days off work at the end of last week to do a bit of sea fishing but the weather once again had different ideas. A little wind we want but 45 mph gust onto the shore is a bit much by anyones standards. Fell walking was out of the question so where to go?

Digiscoped Wood Pecker

As Martin Mere is only a few miles from our front door we decided to pay another visit to this fantastic bird reserve owned by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that sometimes the birds are just too far away to see or photograph. Well on Friday we finally did it – we purchased a fieldscope (small telescope) from the very helpful Andy at the In Focus shop, it really does make a huge difference being able to set up many ’scopes’ onto the same subject at the same time so that you can compare them. We ended up with an Opticron GS665 with a 20 – 40x magnification eyepiece, a tripod and a clamp for using it within a hide. After using it until the light failed we are both very pleased so far with our purchase.

The photo of the Great spotted woodpecker was taken as an experiment – I focussed the scope onto the bird then took a photo through the eyepiece of the scope using our digital camera. Not brilliant but not bad for a quick trial. After searching round the internet I’ve found this is called ‘digiscoping’ and there are brackets made for holding the camera in place so I might give that a go eventually.

A Riot of Swans at Martin Mere, Lancashire

Whooper Swans

The tides were not suitable for sea fishing at any of our favorite marks last weekend so after a lazy Saturday we woke on Sunday to glorious sunshine. After having a quick look at the days weather forecast we decided to brave the crowds and go and give the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust reserve of Martin Mere a visit.

This is where last months BBC programme, Autumn Watch was broadcast from and as it’s only a short journey from our front door after packing a flask, some snacks, binoculars, new camera and a good bird book we set off and arrived at about 11am.

Even though it is only a few miles away we’ve only been here a couple of times and pulling into the car park we remembered why, it was packed! We quickly entered and made our way as far from the crowds as possible.

Red Crested Pochard

Martin Mere consists of 2 main areas; the ornamental wildfowl section which is all fenced off and contains many different birds from around the world and the ‘meres’ which is where the main action is.

Every year tens of thousands of wildfowl use this area as their wintering grounds and the reserve is well know for the huge numbers of Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans that can be seen from the hides.

Even though we are still in Autumn the numbers of wildfowl is still impressive and as the colder months approach these number will steadily increase.

On our walk from hide to hide we managed to see all the usual suspects that are listed on the Martin Mere website but the most spectacular thing about this reserve is the sheer quantity of birds.

They were everywhere. From the smallest wading birds such as Ruff, tiny Teal and Widgeon, massive flocks of Lapwing through to the hundred plus Whooper Swans and the thousands of Pink-footed geese. It’s impossible not to be moved by such sights.

We managed to coincide one of our hide visits to a feeding session where grain is put out for visiting Whooper Swans.

Feeding Time

It was hard to believe that these were completely wild birds that only a few days ago were in Iceland. As the girl approached with a barrow full of grain they were almost climbing in to get at the food and it wasn’t long until it was almost impossible to see the ground beneath the feet of so many different birds.

We saw that quite a lot of cygnets had arrived since Autumn Watch and it was amazing to watch what can only be described as a riot break out amongst the birds as they squabbled to get a good feed.

We made our last circuit of the hides and thanks to some very helpful people who let us use their telescopes we saw a Merlin perched on a fence, a Buzzard on a gate post and then right at the end we saw a Marsh Harrier effortlessly patrolling the area.

To see three species of birds-of-prey only fifteen minutes from our doorstep made the entire trip worthwhile. We’ll certainly be going back but maybe when the crowds have died away and winter has set in.

Water, Wetlands and Wildlife

As BBC’s Autumn Watch came to an end last week, and what a fantastic series it was, I trawled through the internet to find a few relevant websites.

WWT, The Wildlife and Wetlands Trust
The UK’s only specialist wetland conservation charity and home of Martin Mere, the location of Autumn Watch.
The RSPB, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Working to secure a healthy environment for birds and wildlife which helps create a better world for us all.
The Mersey Basin Campaign
Helping improve water quality in the rivers and waterways of England’s Northwest and encourage high quality waterside regeneration.
National Trust, Formby
Offering miles of walks through the woods and dunes. One of the last places in England where visitors may catch a glimpse of the rare red squirrel.
Red Deer Research on Rum
One of the star attractions of this years Autumn Watch was watching these magnificent animals in such beautiful surroundings.

Plus a couple of new sea fishing ‘blogs’

Seaforth Sea Fishing
A new website designed for north west sea anglers. Through the months there will be pictures and reports on what is caught and where.
East Anglia Sea Angling
A blog by Ian, who lives in Norfolk, recounting some of his sea fishing experiences.