Bird Hides in North West England

The widest range of action — wildfowl, marsh harriers, bearded tits at the grit feeder

The Causeway is my favourite. It puts you between two open water bodies with reed channels feeding in from either side, so you get a wider range of action than the more focused hides. If you are new to the reserve, start at the Causeway.

Herons close in, at dawn — and a reputation for otters

Tim Jackson is usually my first hide at dawn. Herons are normally close in to the hide, and on one visit a marsh harrier showed. If you're out as early as I am — in the hide before 6am — it's lovely and quiet.

Deer across the water at 600mm, and cormorants in the trees

Grisedale is a hide I like more the earlier you get there. The deer sit on the far side of the water, comfortably within reach of a 600mm lens. Get there around 6am for a peaceful morning and you should have the hide to yourself.

A peaceful, distant hide — marsh harrier, herons and swans

Lower Hide is the most distant of the hides. While I was there I watched a marsh harrier — my favourite bird to see at the reserve — along with herons and swans. It was a peaceful spot to sit.

The easiest hide to reach if you are less mobile

Lilian's is the hide closest to the car park, and as it's accessible by wheelchair it's the easiest option if you're less mobile.

Saltmarsh waders — avocet, lapwing, redshank, black-tailed godwit

A separate site about a mile from the main reserve, accessed via its own car park near Crag Foot. I'll be straight with you: I haven't visited either hide yet.

Not yet a first-hand account — on the list.

Kingfishers, and the best raptor sightings at Martin Mere

Ron Barker is where you will get your best chance of kingfishers at Martin Mere, and it is where my favourite raptor sightings have happened — marsh harrier, buzzard, and kestrel are the three I keep coming back for.

Small woodland birds at close range — bullfinch, reed bunting, nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker

This is the one. If you only have an hour at Pennington, the Bunting Hide is where you spend it. It overlooks a feeding station that's been pulling in a consistent cast of small birds for years.

Open water, and fledging herons at the end of April

It earns its place on the calendar with one specific event: at the end of April, young herons leave the nest for the first time, and this is by some distance the best hide on the reserve to photograph that.

Kingfishers — the most reliable spot on the reserve

This is the hide I'd send you to right now if your single goal at Pennington was a kingfisher photograph. I see them on most of my visits there, though not always close enough to photograph cleanly.

Herons and egrets, and getting away from the crowd

This is the quietest of the four hides I use. If Bunting is full and you want somewhere to escape the crowd, Horrocks is your bolt-hole.

A quiet sit-down at the end of a circuit

Tucked away on the far side. Limited photographic angles but a quiet sit-down at the end of a circuit. I don't run my mornings around it.