44,999........

Got in too late last night to spark up the PC to post this entry.

Just return from Martin Mere WWT reserve as a guest at the celebration for 40yrs of the reserve. The start of the evening was to watch the spectacle of 45,000 pink footed geese return for the evening roost then back inside for a lovely locally sourced 3 course meal including Southport potted shrimps.

It would have been good without the golden sunset but it added that extra bit of magic. This has to be one of the top wildlife watches in the UK and we are only a few miles from some of the largest urban conurbations in the NW of England. 45,000 geese is the current estimated count and is a record for the reserve. The geese have just returned from breeding in Iceland. They won't all stop at Martin Mere for winter as some will disperse to other parts of the UK and near continent. The geese will be followed in the coming weeks by thousands of Whooper Swans returning from the high Arctic.

The site was the vision of Sir Peter Scott(son of Robert Falcon Scott of race to the South Pole fame). From humble beginnings it is now a major wetland site and massive tourist attraction. I can remember coming here on a primary school trip which couldn't have been much after the site had opened in 1974.