Marton Mere has a superb diversity of habitats, making it attractive to a number of flora and fauna. You will find a variety of wildflowers such as bee orchids, yellow rattle, marsh woundwort and birdsfoot trefoil. The site supports a number of invertebrates such as bees, dragonflies and moths. Butterflies such as the common blue, red admiral, meadow brown and gatekeeper are particularly numerous.

The reserve attracts good numbers of scarcer birds such as water rails, bitterns, whimbrels, marsh harriers and ospreys. The extensive reed bed habitat supports breeding sedge warblers, reed warbler and reed bunting. Long eared owls, sparrowhawks, peregrines and the occasional merlin are also present.