Pause, Plenty, and Preparation - Marton Mere LNR - Discovery Walk 3 of 4

Pause, Plenty, and Preparation

📅 Saturday 16th August 2025 | 🕤 09:15-12:00

📍 Start point: Main Reserve Entrance – Lawson Wetland

📍 What 3 Words https://w3w.co/twins.long.tummy

👣 All ages welcome | Free guided walk

As summer draws to a close, Marton Mere takes a deep-breath and a well-earned pause. The energy of spring and early summer — of courtship, nesting, and blooming — begins to settle. This month's Discovery Walk invites you to slow down and soak in the subtle changes.

Many of our resident and summer migrant birds have raised their young, and fledglings will now feed up in hedgerows and reedbeds, preparing for the long journeys back to Africa.

Wildflowers, having bloomed in abundance, are now setting seed — and if you look closely, you’ll find the next generation of plants already forming.

The site offers food a plenty with as brambles, apples, pear and plums swell with ripening fruit, insect life buzzes softly in the still air, and the trees begin to show the first hints of seasonal change. It’s a time of preparation too, as birds, bats, and insects take advantage of nature’s final summer offerings before the cooler months arrive.

🌿 What might we see?

Expect sightings of warblers such as Whitethroat and Chifchaff moving through the scrub and reeds, dragonflies and damselflies patrolling sunlit glades, and butterflies like Speckled Wood, Peacock, and Gatekeeper still on the wing. Listen too for the reeling of Grasshopper Warblers or the sudden alarm of a Blackcap as we pass by fruit-laden brambles and elder. In the sky, Swifts may be making their final sweeps, while Swallows and House Martins gather on wires, readying for migration. We may be really luck and see the amazing Hobby or even a Red-footed Falcon - keep your eyes to the skies.

🔧 Looking ahead: the work never stops

As the wildlife begins to move on, our dedicated volunteers are already turning their thoughts to the coming months. From September through to March, key habitat management work takes place across the reserve — from coppicing and reed cutting to path improvements and nest box care — all designed to keep Marton Mere in top condition for the species that rely on it year-round.

This quieter spell offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on what’s been achieved this season, and to begin the thoughtful, hands-on work that ensures Marton Mere remains a haven for wildlife and a place of discovery for future visitors.

Be sure to bring binoculars if you have them, a notebook and a camera to document your observations wouild also be useful. However, the walk will be fully guided and the guides will have access to all of this equipment and plenty of information.

We hope to see you there!