Autumn Watch with Bill Oddie

I tuned in to a little of this on BBC2 last night to discover it's being filmed down the road from my Mum at Martin Mere Wildfowl Sanctuary in Lancashire. It's a bit early in the year for the main migration of geese. They usually come over in huge droves in November/December, honking overhead in V-formation. A stunning sight.

I went there this year in early July when the weather was sweltering. I was dismayed to discover that the whole place was covered in security measures and the park was patrolled by security guards these days. Mind you, after what happened on the Island with Tonga the baby penguin being snatched from Amazon World last Christmas, animal sanctuaries can't be too careful these days. A very sad sign of the times.

Here are some of the pictures I took on the day. Flamingoes.....

Mum feeding one of the many geese we encountered. They certainly weren't backward in coming forward.

A Duck with her cute ducklings.


A baby moorhen. There were masses of these, like tiny black cotton wool balls.


A special breeding pen full of goslings. A noise had just sent them hurtling down the grass!