A Little Bit Of Blackpool

Tuesday meant a ringing trip to Marton Mere, Blackpool. This Lancashire seaside resort is famous for many things, including a 1937 George Formby song "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock", a ditty banned by BBC radio of the day for having suggestive lyrics. Nowadays, anything goes in trendy but traditional Blackpool. 

Two miles from the world famous Blackpool Tower, the Pleasure Beach, the honky-tonk Promenade and alleged debauchery of Blackpool nightlife is Marton Mere. The mere is a water body believed to occupy a kettle-hole formed during the last glaciation over 14,000 years ago, and is thus one of only two remaining water bodies in Lancashire of natural origin, the other being Hawes Water at Silverdale, also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 

Marton Mere is now local nature reserve, a tranquil refuge on Blackpool’s urban fringe, important for nature conservation, quiet recreation and environmental education with a number of bird populations and other nationally important species of dragonflies, butterflies, bats and orchids. 

Marton Mere, Blackpool

I met up with Andy at 0630, a time when many Blackpool revellers choose to retire to bed after a long night of song and dance. We set up shop near the rangers’ hut and waited for our little bit of Blackpool to begin. 

Unlike 10 days ago, today we managed just 8 species in the catch of 21 birds dominated by Reed Warbler and a healthy number of Blackcaps – 8 Reed Warbler, 7 Blackcap 2 Blackbird, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Wren, 1 Great Tit and 1 Dunnock. 

Six of the Blackcap proved to be first year birds, probably bred on site or close by. The area of the mere is now almost surrounded by extensive parkland and woodland of Stanley Park and Blackpool Zoo, all of which hold many pairs of Blackcap in ideal habitat. 

Blackcap

 Our eight Reed Warblers included a male first ringed here in 2015, the rest all juveniles/first years. 

Reed Warbler

 Just one Sedge Warbler from what is now not prime habitat for this species. 

Sedge Warbler

 

Other species seen but not caught included Cetti’s Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting and Song Thrush. 

Common Whitethroat

And in case you were wondering – here’s a little stick of Blackpool Rock. 

Blackpool Rock

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Meanwhile, take a look at Eileen's Blog and Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.