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Overview
Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve is managed and co-owned by Blackpool Council's Ranger Service and Marton Mere Holiday Village. The Rangers manage conservation projects and recruit Volunteer Rangers, protect the local wildlife and organise events and tours around the reserve. It is well protected by local byelaws and visitors should endeavour to stick to the designated paths.
It is recognised nationally as a site of special scientific interest due to both its bird life and other wildlife and is an important habitat for many endangered or rare insects and plants.
The site should not be confused with the Martin Mere Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve, which is also in Lancashire.
Birds
Notable Species
It is home to a variety of waterfowl and is particularly favoured by diving species and fish-eaters such as Great Bittern, Great Cormorant and Great Crested Grebe.
It is also a regular wintering location for up to nine Long-eared Owls.
It also has a good variety of raptors, including Peregrine Falcon, Merlin and Sparrowhawk.
Rarities
Check-list
Please add species you spotted.
Birds you can see here include:
Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Bewick's Swan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Ruddy Duck, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Common Pheasant, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Glaucous Gull, Black Tern, Feral Pigeon, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Western Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Little Owl, Short-eared Owl, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Western House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Common Wren, Dunnock, Eurasian Robin, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Common Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Magpie, Carrion Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, European Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, Common Kingfisher
Other Wildlife
Common Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper buterflies.
Site Information
History and Use
The mere is actually one of the few truly natural lakes in the area, having been formed by glaciation in the last Ice Age. It was originally much larger than at present; much of the land having been drained to create farmland. A large area of the surrounding land was used as a household waste landfill site until being reclaimed and landscaped. This has led to a great many fruiting trees in the area due to seeds in the waste which now attract many species of thrush to the area in the autumn and winter to feed on the apples and pears.
Habitats
Photo by Michael Foster
Location:Marton Mere, Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Reed Bed
There are extensive reed beds around much of the mere which provide a large Starling roost and refuge for Teal, Great Bittern, Water Rail and nesting sites for Coot and Moorhen. Other common reedbed dwelling birds take advantage of this habitat such as Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler and Long-tailed Tit.
Marton Mere
The lake itself is deep and has a large population of fish. This provides habitat for both dabbling and diving ducks. It also attracts wading and diving fishing birds. It is a winter overnighting spot for Whooper Swan and Bewick's Swan and various goose species. It is also a good spot for finding many gull species loafing on the water. There are also a few small islands which provide refuge and drying space for Cormorants.
Scrub and Woodland
Photo by Michael Foster
Location:Marton Mere, Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom
There are small copses of woodland surrounding the mere. There are also large areas of natural hedgerow such as hawthorn, gorse and rowan. This attracts many passerine species and the winter roosting Long-eared Owls. There are also many thrush species to be seen through winter due to the fruiting trees that have sprouted since the reclaiming of the land from being a rubbish tip.
Drainage Ditch
The mere provides a drainage sump via a pumping station for the area with an overflow through a ditch at the eastern end. This creates a suitable habitat for the Kingfisher and Little Grebe to fish in.
Farmland
There are large fields to the east and north of the mere. Great numbers of Pink-footed Geese visit the fields to forage in autumn and early winter. This is also a plentiful hunting ground for owls and raptors.
Access and Facilities
Marton Mere is freely accessible by public footpath from many directions.
There is no dedicated car parking, though the Marton Mere holiday Park is sympathetic to the need for local birders to park but turning up en masse from out of the area is likely to stretch that tolerance. There is on-street parking near to public footpaths from Lawson's Road (see map). The reserve is adjacent to the Heron's Reach Golf Course at the rear of the De Vere Hotel and can be accessed from footpaths leading from the perimeter bridlepath. The hotel does not actively encourage parking of people accessing the reserve but conversely does not actively persecute dog-walkers and local birders who do so provided they don't take liberties and park right next to the main building or turn up in droves.
Facilities are limited to various hides around the reserve. There are no toilets around the reserve. There is a Ranger Station on the holiday park for information and assistance with access and where to look for particular birds and wildlife.
Hides are basic, though weatherproof, offering close views of the reed beds and over the mere. There is also a well-stocked feeding station opening onto a small patch of woodland that offers a good variety of woodland birds and attracts Reed Bunting and Common Moorhen away from the reed beds.
Disabled Access
There is no specifically designed disabled access as such but access is not poor, especially from the Holiday Park side. Main footpaths are reasonably firm, though it is a wetland and can become boggy in places. Main gates from the Heron's Reach Golf Course side have padlocks to keep out motor vehicles but have RADAR key access. The hide overlooking the lake nearest the main entrance to the reserve from the Heron's Reach Bridlepath has good access from a path and there is a wooden viewing platform with a bench for good panoramic views of the lake and reed beds that is easily accessible. Hide access from the Holiday Park side is good, with easy access via a concrete path from the paved roadway to the hide nearest the outlet. Others need you to cross the grass, which may be problematic in winter.
Provided you use a wheelchair or motorised scooter with reasonably sensible tyres you should be OK. Most hides have lower windows and are walk/wheel in with no steps. (Would be handy if anyone who has made the attempt to use them with a wheelchair could make some kind of comment here) The steel container hide is raised on stilts over the back of the reed bed and the wooden walkway has one shallow step on its wooden ramp and the window slits are all perhaps too high. Other hides are breezeblock-constructed with metal roofs and have varying heights to the windows with no steps into them.
Note for parents:
There has been a problem in some hides with obscene graffiti so parents of young children should be aware of this.
This issue has been dealt with recently (March 2009), thankfully.
Contact Details
Head Ranger; Parks and Green Environment Section; Stanley Park Offices; West Park Drive; Blackpool FY3 9HU
Email: parks.landscapes@blackpool.gov.uk Tel: 01253 478478 Fax: 01253 478455
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Marton Mere. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Marton_Mere
External Links
Blackpool Borough Council information on reserve.
Copy of reserve information sign and map of paths, hides and camera locations.
