For our final outdoor meeting of 2017 we had planned to visit the Lancashire Wild Life Trust’s site at Lunt Meadows. Because of the very cold weather and the lack of any shelter or facilities at Lunt the venue was changed at the last minute to Martin Mere where ten members of the group enjoyed a very good morning’s bird watching in the relative comfort of the well-constructed hides, and several of us stayed on for lunch in the reserve’s excellent cafe.
The bright but very cold weather made for excellent visibility, with closer than usual views of birds that were concentrated by the ice into unfrozen areas near the main hides.
Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of 48 species seen:
Species | Number Seen | Comment |
---|---|---|
Blackbird | Several | |
Black-headed Gull | Hundreds | |
Black-tailed Godwit | Several | |
Blue Tit | Several | |
Brambling | 1 | |
Buzzard | 2 | |
Canada Goose | A few | |
Carrion Crow | 1 | |
Chaffinch | Several | |
Coal Tit | Several | |
Coot | Many | |
Cormorant | A few | |
Dunnock | A few | |
Feral Pigeon | Several | |
Goldfinch | Several | |
Great Tit | Several | |
Grey Heron | 3 | |
Greylag Goose | Hundreds | |
Herring Gull | 1 | |
Hybrid Duck | A few | |
Hybrid Goose | 1 | |
Kestrel | 2 | |
Lapwing | Hundreds | |
Lesser Black-backed Gull | A few | |
Magpie | A few | |
Mallard | Hundreds | |
Marsh Harrier | 1 | Bill H |
Moorhen | Many | |
Mute Swan | ||
Pheasant | 1 | |
Pink-footed Goose | Many | |
Pintail | Many | |
Pochard | Several | |
Redshank | Bill H | |
Robin | Several | |
Ruff | Several | |
Shelduck | Many | |
Shoveler | ||
Snipe | 3 | |
Sparrowhawk | 2 | |
Stock Dove | Several | |
Teal | Many | |
Tree Sparrow | 1 | |
Tufted Duck | Several | |
Whooper Swan | Many | |
Wigeon | Many | |
Woodpigeon | Several | |
Wren | A few |
Last Updated on December 26, 2017