Martin Mere Part 1 (on the wild side)

Early November saw a brief visit to Lancashire (and an even briefer one to Yorkshire) to catch up with a few people.  I made sure that I allocated a day for the WWT reserve at Martin Mere.  I didn't really care what the weather was on the day.  I knew I could make something of it.

In the event, the day presented everything except real snow.  I was on the doorstep when they opened.  The morning was dry and sunny with a cooling breeze that stiffened as the day progressed.  After lunch it went darker and darker.  Then came the hail and the sleet.  Not as bad as it reads!  The precipitation came in short, sharp showers and there were periods of 'dry' in between.  (As much as 10 minutes sometimes!)  The wind was very strong.

I shall post the images from my visit in 2 Parts.  All the images in Part 1 were taken before lunch on the day of the visit.  All the birds shown are native (or migrant), wild birds.

(Northern) Pintail

Whooper Swan

Getting in with some Greylag Geese

A juvenile  –  first visit to England

"I hope you're not laughing at me"

An adult flying in

Signs of a stiffening wind

Making waves

A family returning from the fields

Greylag Goose

... and friends (Lapwing)

Lapwing

Teal

The last image I took before lunch was of a Peregrine Falcon

I've long been trying to get ever closer to wild Peregrine.  Below is my latest result.  There were four Peregrine working the fields and water's edge on the far side of the mere from the Swanlink Hide.  It was a family group  –  2 adults and 2 juveniles.  Mostly there would be one up and the other three would be perched on fence posts.  They were too far away for a decent photograph with the kit I had.  (600mm focal-length + a 1.4x-crop camera-body)  However, a couple of us had noticed that they were making flights away from the mere to the south along the boundary of the reserve.

There is another hide in that direction  –  the United Utilities Hide  –  and, unbeknown to each other, we decided to try it.  Two of the Peregrine were taking turns to harass Teal and then returning to the fence near that hide.  The camera position was about 100m from the perch.  Conditions were not easy.  The wind was extremely strong and I had to brace the lens on the monopod against the framework of the hide to hold it still.  The wind kept catching it.  Given the proximity of the bird, continuous shutter operation was not really an option.  You can see that the bird knows I'm there.  I managed to get just three frames before it left the area and this is the best one.

Peregrine Falcon

"Time for lunch."

In the next Part, I shall be visiting the collections before making a final return to the 'wild side'.