Martin Mere 19th Sept 2014

 We went to Martin mere, expecting to stay 2 or 3 hours but ended up staying for 6!  Now I see how it is worth the £10 entry fee! Part of the park is a zoo type enclosure with birds from around the world trapped in and part of the park is a nature reserve with free and wild birds. Below are some of the highlights but I really recommend it!

Avocet (not wild so couldn't add to the list)

captive black bellied whilstling duck

Black Headed Swan (captive)

One of the very cool hides on the nature reserve bit!

weird duck hairdoo

wild Dunnock

Eider

Still unidentified duck (haven't got around to looking it up)



Grey (or yellow?) wagtail

Pink footed and Greylag Geese

Friendly juvenile moorhen that stalked us!

Kingfisher

Mallard

Mandarin

Marsh Harrier - we watched a spectacular display of the marshie chasing lapwing, trying to snare tea

Muscovy Duck (captive)

Nene Goose (captive I think)



Male Shoveler

Pochard

Some kind of foreign teal (ringed teal possibly?)

Shelduck

Female Shoveler

Goldeneye or Scaup? cant remember so I need to look in the book!

Whooper Swan, there was also mute and Bewicks swans there

Female Shoveler (again!)

Burton Mere RSPB, Parkgate (Boathouse pub), Dunham Massey

Burton Mere RSPB:
hundreds of Canada geese
blue tits
goldfinch
a snipe
kestrel
mallards
Grey Heron
coot x 30

missed out on a Cattle Egret which was reportedly there but despite us watching the cattle field periodically over the 2 hours we were on site, no view.

Parkgate (Boathouse pub)
30+ Little Egret
5+ Grey Heron
Mallards
various gulls (nothing special noted)
woodpigeon

Dunham Massey Park
Little Grebe x1
Grey Heron x2
Coot x 5
woodpigeon x many
magpie
black headed 1st winter gull (took a lot of research to identify!)
Tufted Duck x 2

Black Headed Gull 1st Winter?

Lots of Canada Geese at Burton Mere RSPB

No sighting of the Cattle Egret by anyone in the hides that I heard

Fallow Deer at Dunham Massey

Grey Heron fishing at Dunham Massey

Little Grebe at Dunham Massey

Little Egret at Parkgate, viewed whilst we had our lunch outside The Boathouse pub

Little Egret at Parkgate

General view of Parkgate

Parkgate group of Little Egret

Leighton Moss, Morcambe Bay

Great White Egret

Grey Heron in flight

Shelduck

Not sure about this one, at first we thought it was a gull but upon observation we thought maybe a phalarope.. I didn't put it on the list.

Water Rail

Leighton Moss RSPB - August

Last 25th  August we visited Leighton Moss again, it was a very windy day with rain threatening but we still saw some good birds.

and some good mammals!

Female Pheasant

Greater Black Backed Gull



Lapwing or "Green Plover" as I heard someone call it

Grey Heron

Marsh Tit

Tricky to ID as in the distance with sunlight in our eyes but settled on Snipe