News
Sunday's Sightings +
Blue skies and a frosty start this morning. Plenty of action to be had with the reserved packed with wildfowl. At least 3000 Teal present, increasing numbers of Wigeon, Pintail and Shelduck. Smaller numbers of Shoveler, Gadwall, Pochard and Tufted Duck pr
10 November 2019
Great Weather for Waders and Wildfowl!
Damp today but plenty of action of late. It's been an excellent autumn for Snipe on the reserve. Currently we thing there are at least 150 on site but it could be much higher. Around 30 birds were next to the in focus shop this morning (picture below).An
7 November 2019
Latest Sightings
We are in full peak autumn mode at the moment with the Mere packed with birds. Recent waste potato deliveries on Top Mere has produced some excellent viewing of Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swan. All of the duck species are well on the way to moulting ou
5 November 2019
Saturday Sightings +
Very mild, light wind and a little rain. Recent waste potato deliveries on Top Mere have brought in lots of Pink-footed Geese. Keep an eye on these flocks as they are likely to contain rarer geese as we head into November. The October coordinated goose co
2 November 2019
Thursday update
It's still mostly about numbers here at the moment, with 400+ Whooper Swans coming in to roost tonight, and 15,000+ Pink-footed Geese in the immediate area. Amongst the Pink-footed Geese on the reserve were a Barnacle Goose (yesterday) and a Pale-bellied
31 October 2019
Sunday's Sightings +
An early start for us until our body clocks reset! Blue skies and a chill in the wind to start Sunday. Further influxes of Whooper Swan and Pink-footed Geese as cold weather starts to bite in Iceland moving birds into the UK. Over 16,000 Pink-footed Geese
27 October 2019
Pinktastic !!
A few fabulous arrivals of Pink-footed Geese again throughout today following on from a count of 21,000 last night that came in to roost. A few sightings of Merlin today may well involve 2 birds, also at least 2 Peregrine (ad male and juv female) also 3 M
24 October 2019
Brambling
Two Brambling yesterday were new birds, hopefully still around but no reports today, photo by David Gibson.
23 October 2019
Monday update
Beautiful autumn day with light winds and sunshine. Notable for some movements of Fieldfare and a few Redwing over the reserve this morning. There has been a good influx of these winter thrushes in the last 24 hours. Additional birds not mentioned on yest
21 October 2019
Sunday's Sightings
We are back after some internet access issues (someone up the road cut through local cables while hedge cutting...) Jammed packed with birds this morning. A roost count produced 4350 Pink-footed Geese with many birds hanging on to feed on the waste
20 October 2019
Some Counts
Overcast but calm today. Good condition for scanning. Some counts on the reserve show how much movement has occurred in the past few weeks. Teal numbers are building up nicely with over 3000 using the reserve. Great to watch these small fast ducks avoidin
15 October 2019
Sunday Update
Overcast today with light rain early on. Saturday provided a weather opportunity for the arrival of 1000's of Pink-footed Geese and the highest count of the autumn so far of Whooper Swan, 127 counted late on yesterday. Not just Whooper Swan turning up a m
13 October 2019
Latest Sightings
Another day when the weather wasn't really playing ball early on. Nevertheless anyone visiting the reserve will still come away a great selection of birds, 50-60 species in a days birding. Good on the raptor front again with highlights including a Merlin
11 October 2019
Late Hobby
A fairly wild start to the day weather wise, squally showers blowing through. A good raptor day yesterday; a late adult Hobby showed well from the United Utilities Hide and over the Grounds. Also 6 Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 4+ Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and 1+ S
9 October 2019
Recent Sightings
Wildfowl numbers increasing on the Mere with 70 Shoveler, 500 Teal (c1000 on site), 45 Pintail, 24 Tufted Duck, 8 Pochard and 500 Mallard. Lots of Pink-footed Geese in and out today with a few thousand in Plover Field on and off throughout the day. At lea
6 October 2019