At Martin Mere

I'd seen it on Springwatch so, being only a few miles away in Liverpool, I just had to head further north to see the water bird sanctuary for myself. It is divided into sections, each with gates that visitors must close behind them to prevent the US waterfowl from wandering amongst the Siberian ones (if only human politics were that simple). Some of the birds are quite tame and would stand at your feet staring hopefully upwards for a snack. Before you venture down the paths, you have the opportunity to buy a paper bagful of seeds and believe me, after four hours I still hadn't dispensed them all and showered the remnants in front of an over-stuffed duck.

My friend and I went to the hide, carved like North American Indian eagle wings. Some house martins had nested just inside the main entrance. There were three birds crammed into the nest but my camera didn't like the contrast between gloom inside and bright sunlight outside so the pictures came out blurry. A chap had set up a camera with an enormous lens and had been waiting for days for a sight of a marsh harrier. My sharp-eyed friend spotted it straight away, sitting on a post amongst the reeds. Just as she told the photographer, it flew off before he had a chance to focus. How we laughed!