Martin Mere

Waking up with the sun streaming through the windows I knew I'd made the right choice to go to Martin Mere on Tuesday (14/4). By the time I arrived at the centre the sun had been partially hidden by the clouds but it was still lovely and warm and the day had the promise to be a good one.

Located 6 miles north of Ormskirk and at the perfect time of year to see winter visiting birds as they leave to head out to their natural habitat and to see the passing migrating birds, the day passed as I expected it to with a few surprises thrown in.

Wandering in between the meres and through the various country/region-themed areas I was greeted by some of the most beautiful and endangered (not all were endangered) waterfowl I've ever seen.

As is the nature with flying creatures not all birds stayed within their area, so I often found that there were mallards pretty much on every stretch of water; ditto the Common Shelduck, Tufted Duck and several others. The majority of them were pretty well behaved and simply stayed in their regions, so it was easy to see what came from where.

Birds like the Demoiselle Crane (above) had enclosures with high fences to ensure that they stayed in their locale, while the stunningly beautiful Mandarin Duck (below) was free to roam wherever it wanted to.Unlike the crane, the Chilean Flamingo had a low fence around it's enclosure. All the time I was there the Flamingoes rarely had their heads out of the water as they were intent on munching the pellets that they eat in captivity. Again, unlike the crane and the ducks, the flamingoes seem very reluctant to have their picture taken and were constantly walking away from wherever I stood. It became a case of just taking lots of shots while following them around and hoping that some of them came out well. Luckily they did!

The only downside to the day was the number of kids around who weren't supervised very well - being very noisy in the hides, chasing the birds away. One kid even tried to put a paper bag on the head of a goose!

Six hours later I left a very happy chilled out person with a greater understanding of the natural world and the threats that we place onto these beautful animals.

See LiveSearch Aerial view of this location here