BLITHFIELD RESERVOIR - STAFFORDSHIRE Overview: Blithfield Reservoir is the largest water body in the region. The shear size of the site means it will always be a magnet for a wide variety of birds. Access: Access is strictly by permit only, details of obtaining one can be found Here. However large sections of the reservoir can also be viewed from public rights of way and these include the causeway, Watery Lane (on the east side of the reservoir south of the causeway) and from the dam. Birdlife:

During the winter months a huge gull roost often attracts plenty of scarce species including Glaucous, Iceland and Caspian Gulls while Yellow-legged Gulls and Mediterranean Gulls are more frequent. Wintering wildfowl include Goosander which occur in large numbers and may be joined by the occasional Red-breasted Merganser. Greater Scaup and Long-tailed Duck also occur from time to time and Common Scoter are recorded each year on passage. Wader passage is usually more productive during the autumn when water levels have dropped sufficiently enough to expose large areas of suitable feeding habitat. Scarce waders usually include Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Knot, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper, while past rarities have included Baird’s, White-rumped and Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Black-winged Stilt. In common with other large reservoirs, Blithfield often attracts good numbers of terns on passage and under suitable weather conditions these include Arctic and Black Terns, with a chance of both Little and Sandwich Terns. Such a well watched site will inevitably have a long list of rarities and these include Squacco Heron, Blue-winged Teal, Franklin`s and Bonaparte`s Gulls, Gull-billed & Roseate Terns, Arctic Warbler and most outstanding of all, a Needle-tailed Swift in June 1991.