Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Martin Mere Wetlands

The Black-Tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa – is a wader (as can be seen here) which is a protected bird in the UK with just 53 breeding pairs, the remainder are wintering birds from Iceland. Their normal diet is insects, snails and worms but they will also eat beetles, grasshoppers and other small insects and some plants during the breeding season. This one was seen searching for food at Martin Mere Wetlands. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This is a lovely female Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs – which is also known as the Eurasian Chaffinch or the Common Chaffinch. The Chaffinch is one of the UK’s most commonest breeding birds (the Wren being the commonest). They breed in a nest, commonly a deep cup in the fork of a tree, and have four or five eggs which hatch in about 13 days with the chicks fledging in around 14 days but still being fed by both parents for several weeks after. Seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This beautiful little creature is a Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens - which is a species of Damselfly to be seen flitting around the vegetation near slow running water like streams, rivers and canals and lakes where there is plenty of mud. It is interesting that they are very sensitive to pollution so are a good indication of water quality. This is a male, determined by the black patch on the wing whereas the female has a pale green translucent wing with a small white patch near the tip. They feed on insects which are caught on the wing. This one was seen resting in a reed bed, on the outskirts of Martin Mere Wetlands, Burscough, Lancashire. The out of focus patch of yellow you see is the flower of a yellow Iris which loves to grow in damp and wet soil on the edges of waterways etc. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The beautiful Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta - is a wading bird in the same family as the Stilt. Although a wader, it has webbed feet so is also quite happy swimming as it looks for food which it does be sweeping its long upcurved bill from side to side looking for aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms and other small creatures. Living throughout temperate Europe and Western and Central Asia, they prefer brackish or saline wetlands, estuaries and other such areas where insect life is prevalent but they will also feed on exposed mudflats. The bird is the emblem of the RSPB. Seen from a hide at Martin Mere Wetlands. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.